Chess Olympiad — Record of title winners

In 1924 the first unofficial Chess Olympiad took place in Paris alongside the 1924 Summer Olympics, involving teams representing nations of the world; FIDE now organises the Chess Olympiad and selects the host nation, and the event is held biennially.

The use of the name “Chess Olympiad” for FIDE’s team championship is of historical origin and implies no connection with the Olympic Games. For the 1924 Olympics an attempt was made to include chess in the Olympic Games but this failed because of problems with distinguishing between amateur and professional players. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in 2020 and 2021, with a rapid time control that affected players’ online ratings.

FIDE organised the first Official Olympiad in 1927 which took place in London. The Olympiads were occasionally held annually and at irregular intervals until World War II. Since 1950 they have been held regularly every two years.

Soviet Union/Russia is the most successful country in the history of Chess Olympiad, with a combined total of 24 titles.

The Women’s Chess Olympiad is an event held by FIDE (the International Chess Federation) since 1957 (every two years since 1972), where national women’s teams compete at chess for gold, silver and bronze medals. Since 1976 the Women’s Chess Olympiad has been incorporated within Chess Olympiad events, with simultaneous women’s and open tournament.

Soviet Union has won it the most 11 times. It has also been won by Hungary (twice) and Israeli (once in 1976). In the post-Soviet era, China have won the event six times, Georgia – four times, Russia – three times, Ukraine – two times and India – once.

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