# 38th Chess Olympiad

The 38th Chess Olympiad (German: Die 38. Schacholympiade), organized by FIDE and comprising an open and a women's tournament, as well as several other events designed to promote the game of chess, took place from 12 to 25 November 2008 in Dresden, Germany. There were 146 teams in the open event and 111 in the women's event. In total, 1277 players were registered.
Both tournament sections were officiated by international arbiter Ignatius Leong (Singapore). In a change from recent Olympiads, the number of rounds of the Swiss system were reduced from 13 to 11 with accelerated pairings. For the first time, the women's division, like the open division, was played over four boards per round, with each team allowed one alternate for a total of five players. In another first, the final rankings were determined by match points, not game points. In the event of a draw, the tie-break was decided by 1. Deducted Sonneborn-Berger; 2. Deducted sum of match points; 3. Game points.
The time control for each game permitted each player 90 minutes their first 40 moves and 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an additional 30 seconds increment for each player after each move, beginning with the first. As a new rule, no draws by agreement were permitted before 30 moves had been completed. Yet there were games drawn as soon as the 16th move, formally drawn by repetition against which there was no rule. In addition, players who were not present at the board at the commencement of a round automatically forfeited the game. This rule was implemented to align chess with other sports events.

## Open event

The open division was contested by 146 teams representing 141 nations. Germany, as hosts, fielded three teams, whilst the International Braille Chess Association (IBCA), the International Physically Disabled Chess Association (IPCA), and the International Committee of Silent Chess (ICSC) each provided one squad. Morocco were signed up, but never appeared for their first round match and were disqualified.
Defending champions Armenia, once again led by Levon Aronian, clinched their second consecutive title. Despite being seeded only eighth, they won nine out of eleven matches, drew against fourth-placed Ukraine and lost only (1½-2½) to runners-up Israel, captained by Boris Gelfand. The Israelis finished one point behind Armenia. The United States, led by Gata Kamsky, took the bronze medals on a better tie break score than Vasyl Ivanchuk and the rest of the Ukrainian team after defeating Ukraine (3½-½) in the last round.
Once again, the Russian team under captain Vladimir Kramnik were the pre-tournament favourites but finished disappointingly in fifth place. Kramnik, having recently lost a world championship match, performed well below his rating, as did the rest of the team, except alternate Dmitry Yakovenko who won the reserve board.
Arguably the biggest surprise of the tournament was Vietnam, who weren't even seeded in the top 30, but still managed to finish in ninth place, aided somewhat by the new tournament structure which allotted them some weaker opponents, although they did manage a 2–2 result against China. The German hosts finished 13th, while India, without World Champion Viswanathan Anand, had to settle for 16th place.
    Open event results, #1–#10 #CountryPlayersAverage ratingMPdSB 1 ArmeniaAronian, Akopian, Sargissian, Petrosian, Minasian267719 2 IsraelGelfand, Roiz, Avrukh, Postny, Rodshtein268218 3 United StatesKamsky, Nakamura, Onischuk, Shulman, Akobian267317362.0 4 UkraineIvanchuk, Karjakin, Eljanov, Efimenko, Volokitin272917348.5 5 RussiaKramnik, Svidler, Grischuk, Morozevich, Yakovenko275616375.0 6 AzerbaijanRadjabov, Mamedyarov, Gashimov, Guseinov, Mamedov270916359.5 7 ChinaWang Yue, Bu Xiangzhi, Ni Hua, Wang Hao, Li Chao271416357.5 8 HungaryLékó, Polgár, Almási, Balogh, Berkes269216341.5 9 VietnamNguyễn Ngọc Trường Sơn, Lê Quang Liêm, Đào Thiên Hải, Nguyễn Văn Huy, Tu Hoang Thong253916340.0 10 SpainShirov, Vallejo Pons, Illescas Córdoba, Khamrakulov, San Segundo Carrillo264416337.5
    Open event results, #11–end (#146) RankCountryAverage ratingMPdSBdSMP 11 Georgia261816321.0 12 Netherlands260915343.0 13 Germany264715339.0 14 Bulgaria269115327.5 15 England262915320.0 16 India263415310.0 17 Slovenia258315288.0 18 Belarus260214307.0 19 Romania263114306.5 20 Serbia260414302.0 21 Norway261114300.0 22 France269014295.0 23 Cuba262614294.5 24 Greece258514292.5 25 Sweden257614286.0 26 Montenegro252214279.0 27 Croatia258814275.5 28 Canada250014272.5 29 Poland260913301.0 30 Bosnia and Herzegovina257713294.0 31 Slovakia258713290.0 32 Finland249113287.5 33 Estonia249513282.0 34 Lithuania254813278.0 35 Germany "C"250613276.5122 36 Turkey249613276.5121 37 Kazakhstan255513272.5 38 Czech Republic261113270.5 39 Denmark256613268.5 40 Iran252413265.0 41 Italy252113261.0 42 Germany "B"252313259.0 43 Moldova258513258.5 44 Latvia252213257.5 45 Austria248613252.5 46 Philippines252613250.0 47 Bangladesh248613249.0 48 Paraguay241513220.5 49 Colombia245912257.0 50 Uzbekistan255712256.5 51 Switzerland254112251.0 52 Indonesia238712249.5 53 Scotland251212249.0 54 Brazil246012240.0 55 Portugal244112237.5 56 Egypt249712232.0 57 Australia248812222.5 58 South Africa231512220.5 59 North Macedonia252512220.0 60 Ireland245212218.5 61 Faroe Islands236412213.5 62 Singapore235212210.5 63 United Arab Emirates233212191.0 64 Iceland242011246.0 65 Pakistan203111234.5 66 Qatar240011225.5 67 Venezuela244411224.5 68 Costa Rica240311223.5 69 Argentina257211221.5 70 Belgium239511215.5 71 Tajikistan235811207.0 72 Ecuador240811206.0 73 Mongolia237211188.5 74 Mexico242311188.0 75 Luxembourg228611177.5 76 Jordan228811175.5 77 Japan220611174.5 78 El Salvador230011173.5 79ICSC230511166.5 80 Jamaica221711165.0 81 Wales226311158.0 82 Kyrgyzstan233710222.5 83 Turkmenistan235510200.5 84 Syria231210192.5 85 Iraq229010188.5 86 Bolivia231310183.5 87 Guatemala226310182.5 88IPCA235810178.5 89 Algeria234010174.0 90 Dominican Republic235810167.5 91IBCA231810166.0 92 Albania210210162.5 93 Panama220610161.0 94 Sri Lanka216910160.0 95 Puerto Rico222810159.0 96 Malaysia236210157.5 97 New Zealand237010152.0 98 Angola223110151.5 99 Lebanon231210150.5 100 Thailand227210140.5 101 Palestine23069177.5 102 Nigeria19889174.0 103 Botswana21859173.0 104 Monaco22759171.0 105 Tunisia23109163.5 106 Yemen23329163.5 107 Afghanistan20959152.0 108 Nepal20229148.0 109 South Korea20689146.5 110 Andorra22569144.0 111 Libya21459141.0 112 Netherlands Antilles21689135.5 113 Malta21779134.0 114 Uruguay22879130.5 115 Jersey17429127.0 116 Nicaragua22389120.0 117 Zambia20828140.5 118 Barbados21428136.0 119 Mozambique17758132.0 120 Uganda21758126.0 121 San Marino19078124.5 122 Cyprus21448120.0 123 Namibia19378116.5 124 Ethiopia17698108.0 125 Trinidad and Tobago21738106.5 126 Guernsey2055897.0 127 British Virgin Islands1952895.5 128 Honduras19687129.0 129 Mauritania21397116.0 130 Suriname21417110.0 131 Kenya21647109.0 132 Hong Kong20237106.0 133 Papua New Guinea1896794.5 134 Macau2020794.0 135 Aruba2034792.0 136 Chinese Taipei1846785.0 137 Bermuda1978781.0 138 Malawi14006116.5 139 Liechtenstein2086688.0 140 Ghana1400677.0 141 United States Virgin Islands1400643.0 142 Gabon1400587.0 143 Fiji1923573.0 144 Seychelles1710568.5 145 Madagascar14004 146 Rwanda16083

### Group prizes

In addition to the overall medals, prizes were given out to the best teams in five different seeding groups—in other words, the teams who exceeded their seeding the most. Overall medal winners were not eligible for group prizes.
    Group Prizes GroupSeeding rangeTeamMPdSB A1–29 Ukraine17348.5 B30–58 Vietnam16340.0 C59–87 Paraguay13220.5 D88–116 Luxembourg11177.5 E117–146 Pakistan11234.5

### Individual medals

For the first time, all board prizes were given out according to performance ratings. Accordingly, there was no overall prize, although Sargissian on the third board had the best performance of all players at the tournament:
* Board 1: Peter Leko 2834
* Board 2: Vladimir Akopian 2813
* Board 3: Gabriel Sargissian 2869
* Board 4: Dragiša Blagojević 2792
* Reserve: Dmitry Yakovenko 2794

## Women's event

The women's division was contested by 111 teams representing 106 nations. Germany, as hosts, fielded three teams, whilst the International Braille Chess Association (IBCA), the International Physically Disabled Chess Association (IPCA), and the International Committee of Silent Chess (ICSC) each provided one squad.
Georgia won their fourth title, 12 years after the third one, narrowly defeating Ukraine on tie breaks. The two teams didn't meet during the tournament, but when the Ukrainians only drew their penultimate match against Serbia while the Georgians defeated former champions China (2½–1½), the gold was Georgia's to lose. In the last round they record a win (3–1) against the Serbian, who thus came to play a crucial role in the fight for the title, despite finishing in seventh place themselves. The Georgian team were led by former World Champion, 47-year-old Maia Chiburdanidze, who delivered a stellar performance, winning the top board with the best performance of the tournament.
The United States clinched the bronze medals on tie breaks, just ahead of Russia (with newly crowned World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk) and Poland. The German hosts finished in 21st place.
    Women's section results, #1–#10 #CountryPlayersAverage ratingMPdSB 1 GeorgiaChiburdanidze, Dzagnidze, Javakhishvili, Lomineishvili, Khukhashvili247618411.5 2 UkraineLagno, Zhukova, Ushenina, Gaponenko, Zdebskaya248618406.5 3 United StatesKrush, Zatonskih, Goletiani, Rohonyan, Abrahamyan239617390.5 4 RussiaKosteniuk, T. Kosintseva, N. Kosintseva, Korbut, Pogonina249517367.0 5 PolandSoćko, Rajlich, Zawadzka, Majdan, Przeździecka238617364.5 6 ArmeniaDanielian, Mkrtchian, Aginian, Galojan, Andriasian239716353.0 7 SerbiaMarić, Bojković, Stojanović, Chelushkina, Benderać238616318.5 8 ChinaHou Yifan, Zhao Xue, Shen Yang, Ju Wenjun, Tan Zhongyi248615392.5 9 IsraelKlinova, Borsuk, Igla, Vasiliev, Efroimski230415325.0 10 BelarusSharevich, Popova, Azarova, Berlin, Klimets227815317.5
    Women's section results, #11–end (#111) RankCountryAverage ratingMPdSBdSMP 11 Romania234815306.5 12 Italy224515280.0 13 France242714336.5 14 Hungary238914321.0 15 India238814320.5 16 Slovakia234814299.5 17 Mongolia216114289.0 18 Netherlands232314286.0 19 Bulgaria237514282.0 20 Croatia225914281.5 21 Germany237914279.0 22 Uzbekistan218114267.0 23 Spain229614266.5 24 Greece231713307.5 25 Cuba228913288.0 26 Vietnam229213272.5 27 Austria223113269.5 28 Latvia226413266.5 29 Argentina226013262.0 30 Turkey218413249.5 31 Azerbaijan226113246.5 32 Estonia217413245.5 33 Moldova224613238.0 34 Germany "B"215913236.0 35 Montenegro224213227.5 36 Czech Republic232112270.0 37 Slovenia235912260.0 38 Sweden231712258.5 39 Iran219412258.0 40 Switzerland221012257.5 41 Colombia217912255.5 42 Indonesia202112237.5 43 Philippines213412232.0 44 Luxembourg218512227.5 45 Kazakhstan224012226.5 46 Portugal214512218.0 47 Germany "C"214212208.5 48 Brazil207712196.0 49 Kyrgyzstan209312182.0 50 England224811250.0 51 Lithuania229411239.0 52 Ecuador222311230.0 53 Norway219311224.0 54 Finland201411205.0 55 Dominican Republic202211200.5 56 Scotland198611199.5 57 South Africa193811198.0 58 Turkmenistan206311194.5 59 Bosnia and Herzegovina211011193.0 60 Iceland202911191.0 61IPCA201811180.0 62 New Zealand191211174.5 63 Australia212210209.0 64 El Salvador209810199.5 65 Canada212410190.0 66 Mexico210610184.0 67 Venezuela210810178.0 68 Guatemala192010176.0 69IBCA203510168.0 70 Denmark209810163.5 71 Bolivia197810162.0 72ICSC213010161.0 73 Algeria193610158.0 74 Bangladesh209310156.0 75 Tajikistan176710155.0104 76 Syria180810155.096 77 Albania200410151.0 78 Sri Lanka18509169.5 79 Wales18919145.0 80 Uruguay18829140.0107 81 Puerto Rico18709140.0103 82 Lebanon18029139.0 83 Costa Rica18619129.0 84 Paraguay17259127.0 85 Qatar16569121.0 86 Chinese Taipei15569118.5 87 Iraq17069117.5 88 Egypt18428142.0 89 United Arab Emirates18058129.0 90 Angola15068124.0 91 Tunisia14908119.0 92 Yemen14008114.5 93 Botswana15298113.5 94 Ireland1534890.5 95 Barbados1400881.0 96 Japan16217119.5 97 Nigeria14007111.0 98 Honduras14007106.0 99 Suriname14987105.0 100 Malta17317101.5 101 Libya1400792.5 102 Pakistan1400790.0 103 Panama1641782.5 104 Macau1554779.5 105 Fiji1551774.5 106 South Korea1469766.5 107 Trinidad and Tobago1667758.0 108 Aruba14006 109 Kenya14005 110 Seychelles14003 111 Afghanistan14001

### Individual medals

For the first time, all board prizes were given out according to performance ratings. Accordingly, there was no overall prize, although reborn ex-champion Chiburdanidze on the top board had the best performance of all players at the tournament:
* Board 1: Maia Chiburdanidze 2715
* Board 2: Anna Zatonskih 2571
* Board 3: Nadezhda Kosintseva 2591
* Board 4: Joanna Majdan 2621
* Reserve: Natalia Zdebskaya 2528

## Overall title

The Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy is awarded to the nation that has the highest total number of match points in the open and women's divisions combined. Where two or more teams are tied, they are ordered by the same tie breakers as in the two separate events.
The trophy, named after the former women's World Champion (1961–78), was created by FIDE in 1997.
| # | Team | MP | dSB |
| 1 | Ukraine | 35 | 755.0 |
| 2 | Armenia | 35 | 753.5 |
| 3 | United States | 34 | |