Ali Thameem
Maldives national chess team departed this morning for Uzbekistan to take part in the 46th Chess Olympiad, the biggest chess event in the world.
The team is bound for Tashkent, where they will stay the night before travelling to Samarkand, where the Olympiad is set to take place. This year’s Olympiad, to be played from 16th September to 27th September, will see 1973 players from 207 federations compete across the Open and Women’s categories.
The Chess Olympiad, organized by the world’s governing body of chess, FIDE, takes place every two years. It is played in a Swiss-style eleven-round format in classical time control.
Maldives men’s team includes three of the most experienced veterans – CM Mohamed Hassan (Mohan), CM Abdhul Rahman Ali, and Ahmed Aboobakuru – alongside the latest national runner-up Mohamed Raakin Fayaz, and the highest-rated player in Maldives history: FM Mohamed Shuaau. Both Shuaau and Aboobakuru had been part of the national team that won Maldives a gold medal in the ‘E’ category at the 44th Olympiad in Chennai four years ago.
The national men’s team currently has an average classical FIDE rating of 1879, with Shuaau having the highest at 2207.
The women’s national team comprises WCM Nihaya Ahmed, the nine-time national champion, alongside Mariyam Laisa Abdul Rasheed and three prodigious players: Eena Abdulla Hassan, Aishath Alya Mohamed Shareef, and Aishath Noya Shahurudheen Shareef.
About the Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a prestigious international chess tournament held every two years, where national teams from around the world compete against each other. The event has a rich history, dating back to 1927 when the first Olympiad was held in London.
Olympiads are the chess equivalent of the Olympic Games, but are held separately,ly. It was first held annually and then at irregular intervals till the Second World War. Since 1950, the Olympiads have been held every two years. The Women’s Olympiad made a late entry in 1957 at Emmen, the Netherlands.
National teams qualify for the Olympiad through a zoning system, where teams compete in regional tournaments to earn a spot in the main event. The zoning system is designed to ensure that teams from all regions of the world have an opportunity to participate in the Olympiad.
