# 24th Chess Olympiad

The 24th Chess Olympiad (Maltese: L-24 Olimpijadi taċ-Ċess), 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 between November 20 and December 6, 1980, at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta, Malta.
Once again, the defending champions Hungary proved to be a real match for the Soviet favourites. The Hungarians led the table until the last round, but in the end the two teams tied for first place. The Soviet Union had a slightly better tie break score and took back the gold medals after six years. Yugoslavia completed the medal ranks.
The Soviet team was captained by the reigning world champion Karpov (who fell ill during the tournament and didn't perform to his usual standard) and featured a former champion (Tal) as well as a future one: 17-year-old Olympic debutant Kasparov, who in his first appearance took a bronze medal on the 2nd reserve board.
The Buchholz points deciding the gold medal between the Soviet Union and Hungary were determined by the Scotland-Greece match in the last round. Members of the Hungarian team maintain to this day that Kasparov illegally advised the Greek players during the match whom eventually won 3.5 - 0.5 and thus the Soviet team got the better tie break than Hungary. Earlier in the last round Kasparov reached only a draw against Denmark's Jacob Øst-Hansen, and was allegedly scolded by Viktor Baturinsky the vice chairman of the Soviet Chess Federation.

## Open event

A total of 81 nations played a 14-round Swiss system tournament. To make for an even number of teams, the Maltese hosts also fielded a "B" team. In the event of a draw, the tie-break was decided first by using the Buchholz system, then by match points.
    Open event #CountryPlayersAverage ratingPointsBuchholzMP 1 Soviet UnionKarpov, Polugaevsky, Tal, Geller, Balashov, Kasparov266639449.5 2 HungaryPortisch, Ribli, Sax, Csom, Faragó, Pintér259339448.0 3 YugoslaviaLjubojević, Ivkov, Parma, Kurajica, Marjanović, Nikolić254135 4 United StatesAlburt, Seirawan, Christiansen, Tarjan, de Firmian, Shamkovich251434 5 CzechoslovakiaHort, Smejkal, Jansa, Plachetka, Ftáčnik, Lechtýnský253033 6 EnglandMiles, Stean, Nunn, Speelman, Keene, Mestel252032½453.0 7 PolandSznapik, W. Schmidt, Kuligowski, Bielczyk, Pokojowczyk, Przewoźnik241932½424.0 8 IsraelLiberzon, Birnboim, Y. Gruenfeld, Murey, Kagan, D. Bernstein247432439.0 9 CanadaHébert, Day, Yanofsky, Vukadinov, Vranesic, Allan238532410.5 10 NetherlandsTimman, Sosonko, Ree, Langeweg, van der Wiel, Ligterink253331½449.5 11 RomaniaGheorghiu, Ciocâltea, Șubă, Ghindă, Ghițescu, Stoica250331½437.5 12 SwedenAndersson, L. Karlsson, Schneider, Schüssler, Wedberg, Renman247331½434.0 13 CubaGarcía Gonzáles, García Martínez, Rodríguez Céspedes, Nogueiras, Hernández, Vera González246831½424.5 14 ArgentinaQuinteros, Rubinetti, Debarnot, Schweber, Giardelli, Hase245431439.0 15 PhilippinesTorre, Mascariñas, R. Rodríguez, Pacis, Bernal, Ramos239031430.5 16 DenmarkJakobsen, Høi, Fedder, Mortensen, Øst-Hansen, Pedersen240831427.5 17 FranceHaïk, Giffard, Seret, L. Roos, Goldenberg, D. Roos238131415.0 18 WalesWilliams, Cooper, Hutchings, Jones, Johnston232531395.0 19 BulgariaErmenkov, Tringov, Radulov, Georgiev, Popov, Spasov247330½454.0 20 FinlandWesterinen, Rantanen, Hurme, Ristoja, Mäki, Pirttimäki240130½431.0 21 AustriaRobatsch, Hölzl, Herzog, Roth, Wittmann, Wagner238130½414.0 22 ItalyTóth, Zichichi, Taruffi, Passerotti, Trabattoni, Iannaccone233430½409.0 23 IcelandF. Ólafsson, H. Ólafsson, Árnason, Pétursson, Hjartarson, Jóhannsson247430434.5 24 NorwayHelmers, Heim, Hoen, Moen, Tiller, Sande236930421.5 25 GermanyPfleger, Hecht, Borik, Lobron, Hermann, Kunsztowicz245130420.0 26 SpainDíez del Corral, Bellón López, Pomar, Rivas Pastor, Sanz Alonso, Gómez Esteban242530416.5 27 GreeceMakropoulos, Skembris, Skalkotas, Pountsas, Natsis, Trikaliotis236530402.5 28 VenezuelaOstos, Fernández, Palacios, Dounia, Escalante231130399.5 29 BrazilSunye Neto, Carvalho, Lucena, van Riemsdijk, Câmara, Gentil237430397.0 30 SyriaCatalan, Hakki, Beitar, Arafeh, Kassabe223530394.5 31 SwitzerlandHug, Wirthensohn, Huss, Hammer, Züger, Franzoni239129½ 32 ColombiaGarcía, Zapata, Castro, Cuartas, Acosta, González Rodríguez242329419.0 33 AlbaniaMuço, Adhami, Pustina, Zadrima, Qendro, Karkanaqe231929415.5 34 AustraliaRogers, Jamieson, Johansen, Fuller, Shaw, West236129410.5 35 IndiaRavi Sekhar, Ravikumar, Khan, Meetei, Hassan232529410.0 36 ChileMorovic, Campos Moreno, Cifuentes, Silva Sánchez, Donoso Velasco, Velasquez Ojeda238829408.5 37 MexicoFrey Beckman, Campos López, Félix Villarreal, Maya, Ocampo, Navarro235929396.0 38 ChinaLiu Wenzhe, Qi Jingxuan, Liang Jinrong, Li Zunian, Tang Hongjian238028½411.5 39 PortugalSilva, Fernandes, J. Santos, L. Santos, Durão235128½406.0 40 BelgiumMeulders, De Bruycker, Deleyn, Goormachtigh, Defize, Schumacher223328½395.0 41 IrelandDelaney, Dunne, Doyle, Ludgate, Curtin, McCarthy225528½391.5 42 ThailandChaivichit, Sinprayoon, Trisa-Ard, Darakorn222528½390.0 43 PakistanMirza, Farooqui, Zafar, Chaudry, Ahmad, Rana223828½372.5 44 Dominican RepublicÁlvarez, Abreu, Gonzáles, Mateo, Pérez Nivar225828399.0 45 IndonesiaHandoko, Suradiradja, Arif, Ardiansyah, Gunawan, Kusnadi235428397.5 46 MongoliaMyagmarsuren, Tumurbator, Jigjidsuren, Lhagva232827½402.5 47 ParaguayGamarra Cáceres, Ferreira, Bogda, Santacruz225527½387.0 48 Turkeyİpek, Gümrükçüoğlu, Öney, Süer, Pamuk225927½384.5 49 MalaysiaLiew Chee Meng, Foo Lum Choon, Chang Hing Wah, Cheah Woon Leng, Abdul Rahman220027½378.0 50 Trinidad and TobagoLee, Raphael, Duchesne, Lee, Mohipp, Ramon-Fortune220027½370.5 51 ScotlandPritchett, Swanson, Upton, McNab, Norris, Bonner229127423.5 52 JapanGonda, Takemoto, T. Shiraki, Sakurai, T. Hirata, Sugimoto221327373.0 53 GuyanaM. Broomes, G. Broomes, Wharton, R. Austin, J. Macedo220326½369.013 54 LuxembourgHaas, Feller, Stull, Schammo, Specchio, Kirsch223026½369.012 55 AlgeriaBaghli, Cherrad, Slimani, Kharchi, R. Bounedjar, Belamine220026½351.0 56 New ZealandChandler, Sarapu, Small, Aptekar, Anderson233626401.0 57 LebanonKouatly, Sursock, Abouchaaya, Khechen, N. Saade224326389.5 58 TunisiaBouaziz, Belkadi, Hmadi, Ouechtati, Doghri, L. Hamzaoui227926387.5 59 EgyptSoliman, Fatin, El-Said, Afifi, Sadek, Hamed220025½391.0 60 United Arab EmiratesN. A. Said, S. A. Said, N. M. Said, Ghubash, Qasim, Saleh220025½379.0 61 MaltaAttard, Camilleri, Gouder, Sollars, Gauci, G. Borg222625½376.5 62 ZimbabweDonnely, Barlow, V. Strugo, Levy, Kuwaza, T. Klement220025½369.5 63 Puerto RicoM. Colón Romero, Ochoa, Moraza Choisme, Vázquez Ramos, Sosa, Falcón220125½357.0 - Malta "B"Cilia Vincenti, Vella Gera, Psaila, Thake, Vasallo, A. Borg220025½355.5 64 JamaicaWheeler, Powell, A. Niederhoffer, Cameron220025½348.5 65 United States Virgin IslandsVan Tilbury, R. Grim, Grumer, Turner, Chiu Yum San, D. Delzell223325½333.0 66 Hong KongKan Wai Shui, Lin, Chao, Luk Luen Wah, M. Camm, R. Murphy223525349.0 67 GuernseyFulton, Blow, Newman, Knight, Lainé, Bisson220025345.0 68 JordanS. Bukhari, Bakr, M. Bukhari, Kilani, Arafat220025323.5 69 CyprusMartidis, Riza, Aristotelous, Hadjiyiannis, Kleopas220024½356.0 70 KenyaKanani, Adam, Yongo, Donde, Kinyanjui, S. Oulo220024½318.5 71 NigeriaOmuku, Agusto, O. Faseyitan, E. Awobokun, O. Ayoola220023½361.0 72 Faroe IslandsZiska, Apol, Vilhelm, Midjord, Joensen220024½355.0 73 AndorraSantamaría Mas, Clua Ballague, J. A. Pantebre Martínez, De la Casa, Gómez Abad, B. Pantebre Martínez220023½345.5 74 LibyaM. Hingary, Tawengi, El-Mejbri, Benohman, Ali Dreibika, Talha220023½344.0 75 British Virgin IslandsHook, Jarecki, Georges, Solomon221623½326.0 76 BermudaWojciechowski, Harris, Radford, Chudleigh, Dill, Tee220023326.0 77 ZaireDe Vries, Ciezkowski, Buysschaert, Callens, Claeys220023319.5 78 MonacoCaruana, Negro, Girault, Lepine, Bernard, Angles d'Auriac220020½ 79 Papua New GuineaB. Whyte, F. Conejares, Hothersall, Markov, Marko, Puru220019½ 80 UgandaZabasajja, O. Musasira, Mungyereza, Kisubi, Kamuhangire, Kiiza220017½ 81 AngolaFonseca de Oliveira, Adão Domingos, De Meireles, Ferreira, V. Marques Alves, Saraiva de Carvalho220013½

### Individual medals

* Board 1: Bill Hook 11½/14 = 82.1%
* Board 2: Yrjö Rantanen 9½/13 = 73.1%
* Board 3: José Félix Villarreal 9/11 = 81.8%
* Board 4: István Csom 7/9 = 77.8%
* 1st reserve: Yury Balashov (7½/10) and Bjørn Tiller (6/8) = 75.0%
* 2nd reserve: Predrag Nikolić 6½/8 = 81.3%

### Best game

The 'Best Game' prize went to Jonathan Mestel (England) - Nils Gustaf Renman (Sweden) from round 13.

## Women's event

42 teams took part in the women's event which for the first time was played as a 14-round Swiss system tournament. In the event of a draw, the tie-break was decided first by using the Buchholz system, then by match points.
Like the open event, the women's tournament proved to be a tight affair between the Soviet Union and Hungary, with the Soviet team, captained by world champion Chiburdanidze, winning by half a point. Poland took the bronze.
    #CountryPlayersAverage ratingPointsBuchholzMPHead- to-head 1 Soviet UnionChiburdanidze, Gaprindashvili, Alexandria, Ioseliani237032½ 2 HungaryVerőci-Petronić, Ivánka, Porubszky-Angyalosine, Csonkics223232 3 PolandEreńska-Radzewska, Szmacińska, Wiese, Brustman214826½ 4 RomaniaPolihroniade, Baumstark, Nuțu, Mureșan220026 5 West GermanyFischdick, B. Hund, Laakmann, I. Hund215224339.5 6 ChinaLiu Shilan, Wu Mingqian, An Yangfeng184324338.5 7 IsraelGlaz, Kristol, Podrazhanskaya, Nudelman211323½339.5 8 YugoslaviaMarković, Dragašević, Štadler, Prokopović214223½333.5 9 BulgariaLematschko, Bojadjieva, Voyska, Angelova213823340.0 10 BrazilAbreu Carvalho, Chaves, Cardoso, Longo185023300.5 11 SpainGarcía Vicente, Ferrer Lucas, García Padrón, Cuevas Rodríguez212222½331.0 12 ArgentinaSoppe, Arias, Justo, Vázquez191322½314.0 13 United StatesSavereide, Crotto, Haring, Frenkel209222334.0 14 EnglandMiles, Jackson, Caldwell, Whitehead216022332.5 15 FranceMerlini, Ruck-Petit, Schall, Legendre194222312.5 16 AustraliaMott-McGrath, Hawkesworth, Slavotinek, Martin187022302.5 17 NetherlandsVreeken, Belle, van Parreren, Bruinenberg209221½323.0 18 ColombiaGuggenberger, Leyva, Maya de Alzate, Patiño188821½311.0 19 CanadaShterenberg, Roos, Das, Day193821½305.0152½ 20 ItalyPernici, Gramignani, Merciai, Deghenghi193521½305.015½ 21 SwedenBorisova-Ornstein, Aatolainen, Nyberg, Samuelsson196221½297.5 22 IcelandKristinsdóttir, Tráinsdóttir, Friðþjófsdóttir, Norðdahl180021½279.0 23 Dominican RepublicGarcía Portes, A. R. Marino, Cuevas180021½263.5 24 GreeceFouriki, A. Efremoglou, Petraki, K. Mihailidou180021½253.0 25 IndiaJ. Khadilkar, R. Khadilkar, V. Khadilkar, Thipsay207521305.5 26 IrelandCronin, Delaney, O'Siochrú, Connolly181821287.5 27 WalesGarwell, Evans, James, Brunker193021277.0 28 ScotlandHindle, Elder, Jackson, Houstoun181720½286.0 29 New ZealandFoster, Stretch, Brightwell, Flower180020½239.0 30 DenmarkThygesen, Haahr, Berg, Larsen187520291.5 31 SwitzerlandVeprek, Bürgin, Schladetzky, Meyer190720279.0 32 MexicoCamps de Ocampo, Salazar, Escondrillas182720233.0 33 AustriaHennings, Hausner, Samt, Kattinger193819½291.0 34 FinlandSirkka-Liisa Landry, Palasto, Laitinen, Pihlajamäki190019½283.0 35 EgyptBasta Sohair, Izmael, A. Samy Maha, Ibrahim180019½234.0 36 JapanTakahashi, Watai, Nakagawa181719283.0 37 BelgiumCareme, De Corte, Schumacher, Loo180019235.0 38 MaltaGrech-Sollars, Sciortino, Lentini, Fiott180015 39 Puerto RicoRodríguez Ramírez, Irizarry Adequin, Latorre Vélez, Martorell Martínez180014½ 40 United Arab EmiratesAhmad, N. Saleh, Karim, Hassan180013½ 41 United States Virgin IslandsWidmer, Quenzel, Grumer18004 42 NigeriaIsong, Olusola18001

### Individual medals

* Board 1: Maia Chiburdanidze 11½ / 13 = 88.5%
* Board 2: Nona Gaprindashvili 9½ / 12 = 79.2%
* Board 3: Daniela Nuţu 7½ / 10 = 75.0%
* Reserve: Nana Ioseliani 7½ / 9 = 83.3%