“As one of the oldest and most prestigious events in world chess, the Olympiads have always attracted the attention of the international chess community and played a key role in shaping the game’s hierarchy. Today, the Olympic movement spans almost eighty years of history, and thirty-six events have been held so far. (...) OlimpBase is an entirely voluntary project, available free of charge and created by free people for free people. Yet the remarkable growth of our database would never have been possible without the steady support of chess enthusiasts from all parts of the world.”

These were the words I wrote at the very beginning of my work on OlimpBase. Today, the Olympiads remain immensely important, but they are now only one of many areas covered by the site, resting quietly in the upper-left corner of the OlimpBase homepage. The interest and commitment of our readers have not only helped the archives grow beyond anything I once imagined, but also — and this is a very personal confession — strengthened my confidence and my belief that all the time and effort devoted to OlimpBase have truly been worthwhile.

OlimpBase has now been running for almost eight years. It offers by far the world’s largest collection of historical team tournament data. May our community continue to grow as richly and as quickly as it has so far. Gens una sumus!

Always yours in chess,

July 31st, 2011