23 September 2018
Russian National Teams Arrive in Batumi
World Chess Olympiad opens on September 23.
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The 43rd World Chess Olympiad is taking place in Batumi, Georgia, from September 23 till October 6, 2018.
Both open and women's tournaments are 11-round Swiss events. Each team consists of four main players and one reserve. The winners are determined according to the match points. The position of teams that finish with the same number of match points shall be determined by application of the following tie-breaking procedures in sequence, proceeding from (a) to (b) to (c) to the extent required: 1) Sonneborn-Berger, 2) by the number of the game points scored, 3) by the sum of the match points of all the teams opponents, excluding the lowest one.
Time control: 90 minutes for 40 moves and 30 minutes until the end of the game, with 30 seconds additional time per move, starting from move 1. Playing days: September 24-28 and 30 - October 5. Free day: September 29.
The Russian national men's team with Vladimir Kramnik, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Sergey Karjakin, Dmitry Jakovenko, and Nikita Vitiugov has the second starting number. The rating favorite is the U.S. team, a current Olympic champion. Main rivals of the Russian chess players, besides the American team, are chess players from China, Azerbaijan, India, Ukraine, France, Armenia, England, and Israel. Head coach of the Russian national men's chess team is Andrey Filatov, its coaches are Alexander Motylev and Alexander Riazantsev.
The women's tournament is headed by the Russian team consisting of Alexandra Kosteniuk, Aleksandra Goryachkina, Valentina Gunina, Natalija Pogonina, and Olga Girya. Head coach of the Russian national women's chess team is Sergei Rublevsky, its coaches are Vladimir Potkin and Evgeny Najer. Main competitors of the Russians are the teams from China, Georgia, Ukraine, India, France, Poland, and Kazakhstan.
The Russian teams have been attending the final training camp in Sochi from which they will go to Batumi.
General sponsor of the Russian national chess teams is FGC UES. General partner of the Russian Chess Federation is PhosAgro.
Website of the Olympiad
Tournament page