Chess Olympiad

The Chess Olympiad is a team competition in which national chess federations field representative teams. It is organized by FIDE, the International Chess Federation. Unlike the World Chess Championship, which decides an individual title, the main result here belongs to the team.

• Each match between two national teams is split into several simultaneous individual games, called boards. In the 2026 edition, four players compete for each team and one reserve is available.
• There is an Open section and a Women's section. Open does not mean men's: eligibility is not restricted to men. The Women's section is restricted to women players.
• In 2026 the event uses 11 rounds and the Swiss system. In a Swiss system, not every team plays every other team; each round aims to pair teams with similar results.

FIDE organized the first official Olympiad in London in 1927. The event was held at varying intervals for a time, but since 1950 it has regularly taken place every two years. A separate women's team Olympiad began in 1957, and today the Open and Women's sections are part of the same major event.

The Olympiad includes individual stars, including champions such as Carlsen and Kasparov, but the logic is different from individual competition: a great personal result matters as part of the team score. Team depth, board order, and consistency over many rounds therefore matter as much as a spectacular single win.