After a 4 hour trip by train, I arrived in Budapest. Smooth check-in at the apartment, a copious lunch, and lots of walking…

Being a first-time journalist at the Chess Olympiad has its perks, but also its growing pains. First of all, I went into the wrong building for obtaining my accreditation badge. Instead of writing about chess today, I could have told you everything about the draw Hungary 0-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina. How does one make such a rookie mistake? Well, the Ferenc Puskas stadium is next to the playing hall of the Chess Olympiad, and for someone who is running low on sleep, following arrows and signs is a task more difficult than remembering lines from a Lifetime Repertoire.

In any case, mission accomplished, got the badge. The grand Opening Ceremony was set to begin in a bit over an hour and a half, on the other side of Budapest. How to get there on time, while still returning to the apartment for an outfit change? Some of the organizational flaws have been well-documented across social media, with Ivan Sokolov (team captain of Romania) giving a particularly egregious example of being overcharged by the hotel. Relying on organizer-supplied logistics, such as buses departing from the official hotels at 5 pm seemed risky, so I decided to rely on Google Maps. Thankfully, this step was easy enough, especially since I was quite familiar with the area. Nearby Hotel Bara and the ALDI supermarket have been mainstays of my yearly Hungarian chess excursion between 2021 and 2023, where by my account a grand total of +160 Elo was “farmed” across 4 events.

See: Chess Olympiad board pairings round 1 / Women Chess Olympiad board pairings round 1

Many reunions

“Fake it till you make it”

“Act like you’ve been there before”

Except…I have not, and this a dream come true. ‘Many reunions’ is the motto of the Opening Ceremony through my eyes. Right off the bat, I cordially greet GM Gergely Szabo (team captain and coach of Romania women’s) and WIM Miruna Lehaci (board 4 player). Then I exchange some friendly remarks with several of the arbiters present at the Opening Ceremony, and move on to catch up with two members of team Moldova. Fiona Steil-Antoni sits in front of me and waves enthusiastically to David Howell, situated on the far side of the right bleachers. People who had not seen each other for a while enthusiastically bond together in an atmosphere of anticipation. The energy is palpable, and I am glad to be a part of it.

The MCs arrive on the stage, but quickly depart to leave room for the speeches. First, a local politician talks about the history of Hungary’s involvement with chess and is received with lukewarm applause. Then, a musical moment, where the combination of piano and voice transports chess players into a world where the stress of losing the decisive game for your team is not going to lead to the overnight appearance of yet another 100 gray hairs, seemingly out of nowhere.

Then, Arkady Dvorkovich comes to the podium and opens by challenging the MCs assessment that one has to be “born to play chess”, insisting on its social benefits and inclusion. Dvorkovich, if not dubiously associated to the current Russian regime, could even pass as a good ambassador for the game of chess. Sadly, his ties to the Skolkovo Foundation and Dmitry Medvedev will forever taint his legacy.

More alarmingly, after campaigning for a two-term maximum limit as the FIDE President, he has walked back on his pledge, losing a lot of credibility in the face of delegates who don’t depend on FIDE’s financial support. It will be intriguing to watch what happens with the current exclusion of the Russian and Belarusian federations from sending teams to the Olympiad. The Kyrgyz Chess Federation has put up a motion that seeks to reinstate the two federations. Its proponent and federation president, Babur Tolbaev, is running for the Chairman position of the FIDE Ethics and Discipline Commission. This is the same exact commission that has publicly reprimanded Dvorkovich in a landmark decision earlier this year. The entire situation seems ironic, funny, and straight out of a Kafka novel.

Another few musical moments follow, with some players lighting up their smartphone flashlights to accompany the artists. Then, Judit Polgar enters the arena and completes the FIDE torch relay. Her sisters, Susan and Sofia, are invited to the stage alongside Chief Arbiter Ivan Syrovy to conduct the drawing of lots. Both pick black, so team USA in the open and team India in the women’s section will both start with black on their board 1.

Finally, the president of the Hungarian Chess Federation, Dr. Zoltan Polyanszky coins a quote that’s sure to stick. Wondering whether chess is art, sport, or science, he deftly quips:

“I went to the venue of the Olympiad and saw all those chess tables set there. I imagined that approximately 1,500 people would sit there in silence and full concentration, ready to give their all, and this was when I was convinced that chess is, in fact, a religion!”

The audience is clapping and tapping their feet on the rhythms of the premiere of Trojan War, the official song of the 45th Chess Olympiad performed by Rose May and Raul. The flag ceremony closes the book on the ceremony, with participants whistling and hollering when their flag is displayed on the big screen. This has been thoroughly enjoyable, but people are rushing to the exits to catch the bus that takes them back to their hotels. It’s dinner time, and then pairings for round 1.

Lots of teams remain unpaired, mostly due to visa refusals. In any case, round 1 is still under the guise of “many reunions” due to the lopsided affair that’s going to ease participants into the Olympic atmosphere. Games are on starting Sept 11th at 3 pm CEST. You can follow them right here on Chessdom!

More live (Open): Chess Olympiad 2024 live / Matches 1-26 live / Matches 26-50 live / Matches 51-75 live / Matches 75+ live / TCEC live / TCEC live 2

More live (Women): Matches 1-26 live / Matches 26-50 live / Matches 51-75 live / Matches 75+ live

More about Chess Olympaid 2024 : Participants open / Participants women / All news about Chess Olympiad 2024

This report from Budapest is brought to you by Vlad Ghita. Vlad is a chess player, coach, content creator, and chess promoter from Romania. Since 2020 he has been involved prominently in the chess world

Greeting to everyone who is now in Budapest! The website traffic from there is 50-100 visitors, while in the past days Chessdom receives 1000+ visits from the city in a growing trend. Thank you for following with us and enjoy the biggest and nicest chess gathering of the year!

More live (Open): Chess Olympiad 2024 live / Matches 1-26 live / Matches 26-50 live / Matches 51-75 live / Matches 75+ live / TCEC live / TCEC live 2

More live (Women): Matches 1-26 live / Matches 26-50 live / Matches 51-75 live / Matches 75+ live

More about Chess Olympaid 2024 : Participants open / Participants women / All news about Chess Olympiad 2024

Opening ceremony live

For those who joined to see the opening ceremony of the 2024 Chess Olympiad, we are sorry: no live feed provided by the organizers. The best we can offer you is a recording of the 2022 Chess Olympiad opening to remember the start of the fantastic Chennai Olympiad, while waiting for a video recording from today.

The Chess Olympiad 2024, which is breaking participation records both in the Open and Women sections, will start this September in Budapest. The opening ceremony of the event will be on the 10th of September in the capital of Hungary. Hungarian singer Lilla Vincze from Napoleon Boulevard will join forces with French pianist, singer, and composer Jason Kouchak for an unforgettable performance. Scroll down for the full opening ceremony information.

We will cover live the opening ceremony as well as all events leading to it in the Chess Olympiad 2024 live blog. The song Trojan War will be part of the show and the FIDE anthem will be played, but little more is know for now. In a short statement for Chessdom, FIDE Head of PR Anna Volkova commented, “We are not ready yet to reveal the concept of the opening ceremony and the list of its official guests.”

The grand opening ceremony is on 10 September, and the games of the Olympiad start on 11 September. The opening ceremony will be an event worthy of the Olympiad. Lilla Vincze, the Hungarian singer from the band Napoleon Boulevard, and French pianist, singer and composer Jason Kouchak will perform together. Kouchak is known for his work and charitable activities globally, from the UK to France, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. Their chess-themed song will premiere at the opening ceremony of the 45th Chess Olympiad. The song Royal Game draws inspiration from chess games and speaks about human relationships and the games we play in those. Besides Royal Game, Lilla Vincze and Jason Kouchak will sing songs in three languages, in Hungarian, in English and in French to highlight the cultural diversity of the chess community. It’s no coincidence that they sing about chess: Jason Kouchak is an amateur chess player, and while he does not take part in competitions, chess plays a central role in his life.

Royal Game will not be the only premiere at the opening ceremony, the official song of the Chess Olympiad will also be performed live for the first time. The song Trojan War was created by Rose May and Raul in a songwriting camp organized by Artisjus and zeneszöveg.hu. This way the opening ceremony will be an event where various cultures and nations, and also various generations can come together.

Only players competing at the Olympiad and the press can attend the opening ceremony, but there will be a number of exciting events for the general public. From 11 September, the EXPO in Hall C will offer free events and activities. You can watch the games live on a screen and listen to experts analysing the key games from the previous day. In addition to the events, there will be several exhibitors with chess-related stands, including Women in Chess and DGT. At DGT, you can check out the state-of-the-art chessboards with Bluetooth functionality that competitors also use. If you would like to buy some special merchandise as a keepsake from the 45th Chess Olympiad, you can do that, too.

The Judit Polgar Chess Foundation will invite children and adults to the magical world of the Chess Palace. This is a project of the greatest ever female chess player, Judit Polgár, where you can explore a fantasy chess world and its inhabitants. You can also get the autograph of the Polgár ladies, Zsuzsa, Zsófia and Judit.

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. An exhibition will mark this special occasion at the Chess Olympiad, with highlights from the past 100 years of the federation and the chess community. FIDE is also bringing an urban installation, Capture, with photos of people playing chess from around the world. You can visit the exhibition in Vigadó Square between 17 and 22 September.

Parallel today: Caruana – Nakamura from the Chessable Masters 2023 / Fagernes Chess 2023 / 20+ live events here

15:30 CET

The only thing FIDE could do is to upload some brief videos, after the failed live broadcast of the opening ceremony.

14:00 CET

Here is how you can follow game 1 of Nepo – Ding , starting April 9 at 15:00 local time (GMT+6). Nepo – Ding game 1 live / Nepo – Ding game 1 video coverage with Vishy Anand

Here is a preview by GM Daniel King on the Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Ding Liren match.

13:30 CET

1,5 hours are left to the start of the opening ceremony, which you can follow live at this link. Here is a teaser from the organizers of the match.

12:45 CET

Andras Toth, author of Common Opening traps and blunders, says for Chessdom that Ding Liren is the dark horse, but sees Nepo as the one having advantage. “I think Nepo is the clear favorite, due to his far greater match experience. Ding is a bit of a dark horse, who is certainly not to be underestimated, but I don’t see Nepo not winning this.”

FIDE analyzes previous encounters between the two players. Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren know each other well. In 2009, the Russia vs China chess summit saw the first encounter between the two. Nepomniachtchi won all four games in their match, which consisted of two rapid games and two blitz games. Over the next three years, Nepomniachtchi began to dominate in faster time controls at these summits, winning six games and drawing one in rapid and blitz.

Nepomniachtchi’s first classical win against Ding Liren happened in 2016 at the Hainan Danzhou GM event. Ding Liren’s payback was in 2019 at the Cote d’Ivoire rapid event, followed by his first classical win at the Croatia Grand Chess Tour tournament later that same year.

In 2019, the players competed in a Chess.com speed event, and Nepomniachtchi dominated and won 19-12. Nepomniachtchi also secured an important win against Ding at the 2020 Candidates Tournament, ultimately winning the event, while Ding Liren managed to equalize the score by winning the return game in the last round.

At the last Candidates Tournament in Madrid, held in 2022, Nepomniachtchi won the very first round with Black, setting the course of the event. The second game was drawn as Nepomniachtchi executed a drawing line with the white pieces. On the other hand, Ding has shown that he is persistent and that, even if things go terribly wrong, he can make a huge comeback.

While Nepomniachtchi has a clear advantage at faster time controls, the classical score stands at 3-2 in his favour, with two of those wins being secured during the crucial Candidates Tournament.

12:30 CET

12:15 CET

Nikita Vitiugov and Richard Rapport are in Astana. Mike Klein, reporting for Chess.com says, “I’ve already seen Rapport at breakfast and Vitiugov in the elevator. You can draw your own conclusions, and if you do, they’ll probably be the right ones. #NepoDing”

11:45 CET

Multiple news outlets try to find a click bait title on the basis that the top rated player Magnus Carlsen decided not to defend his title. The Nepo – Ding match is a World Championship by all definitions and if the media wants a scandal they can look here or here. One more proof that this is a World Championship is the numbers generated here on Chessdom. The articles on the tournament have received over 50 000 visits in the past two days, which is higher than the interest generated by Candidates or Olympiad, it is a little lower than Carlsen’s matches, but still higher than any other chess event.

11:15 CET

S.L Narayanan shares with Chessdom his expectations for the match, “Currently I am playing in La Roda Open which has double rounds almost all days including the last day, but I expect a close match! I still think Nepo me has an edge since he already experienced this world championship environment and also he is much more practical compared to Ding and hence could create some pressure. On the other hand Ding is super precise player and will be tough to get anything objective.”

10:55 CET

Just a few hours remain to the opening ceremony, as we keep bringing you the latest news from Astana. Follow live the opening ceremony today at this link

10:30 CET

Chairs were tried, walls were stared at, and photo session taken. Initial reports show Ding Liren is happy with the food in Astana, while he says “I am fully prepared and not nervous at all”. Now Ding Liren comments on Magnus Carlsen, “My favorite chess player is Carlsen. I think Carlsen is the strongest chess player in this era.” See more on Chessdom facebook

10:12 CET

The biggest online chess playing server, which recently broke the record of most games played in a single month, Lichess.org has published an extensive preview on the World Chess Championship. At Chessdom we are huge fans of Lichess and we believe this is the best thing that has happened to global chess in the past years. Here is an excerpt of their preview, we encourage you to read the full article here

As is recent tradition – what’s a good chess tournament without a few major controversies? Against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, now in its second year, questions have been asked about the sport’s governing body, FIDE, continuing to maintain commercial ties with Russian organisations and figures supportive of the Putin regime.FIDE has come under fire for seemingly selling broadcast rights to Match TV per the Russian Chess Federation. Match TV is a Russian TV channel owned by Gazprom-Media, which is under sanctions including in the US and Canada. While it is not clear whether Match TV will receive the live video feed, FIDE has not distanced itself or released any public statement regarding what the Russian Chess Federation has announced. Consequently, FIDE appears to be doing business with entities sanctioned in the West, while other international sports organisations such as the English Premier League, Formula 1, and WWE have terminated their deals with Match TV.

Western media – namely Norwegian national TV channel, NRK – will not be broadcasting this World Championship for the first time in a decade, despite having paid for the broadcast rights. While their motivation is due to Carlsen dropping out, those using the video feed in the West will need to be wary to ensure laws on not indirectly or inadvertently advertising sanctioned companies are followed – such as logos on players’ clothing. Nepomniachtchi has historically been sponsored by Russian companies close to the Russian state, several of which are now sanctioned.

FIDE’s president, Arkady Dvorkovich, who was formerly a deputy prime minister of Russia (2012–2018), has continued to maintain strong links with the Russian government, by continuing to serve on the Board of Trustees of the Russian Chess Federation. Dvorkovich sits alongside two senior and central figures of the Russian government – Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, and Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov (who has both made and defended threats of apocalyptic nuclear war if Russia loses the war in Ukraine) – as well as other individuals and representatives of businesses, sanctioned by dozens of countries. In total, 13 of the 17 members of the Board of Trustees are sanctioned. 

Earlier this month, a Russian Chess Federation senior official shared with Russian state media that Dvorkovich’s control of FIDE was probably the main reason why chess has not followed the example of sports such as gymnastics in a total ban of Russian and Belarusian players from playing in events under any flag. Other sports such as athletics, swimming, cycling, skiing and ice-skating have taken similar approaches to gymnastics. FIDE’s CEO, Emil Sutovsky, recently highlighted that their position since the invasion has been similar to that adopted by tennis authorities, where Russian and Belarusian teams are banned from competition but individual athletes can still play under a neutral flag. Even so, tennis does not show the Russian or Belarusian flags on their online rating lists, but  FIDE does – see Nepomniachtchi’s FIDE profile or the FIDE rating list, for example. Essentially FIDE’s policy enables Russian and Belarusian players to continue competing internationally with practically no changes from before.

Given the long history of state support for chess in Russia, few doubt that the Kremlin would welcome a Nepomniachtchi victory, and may even seek to use it for propaganda purposes. FIDE has not given any public statement regarding measures they have made to limit this, or on how to handle a player potentially receiving funding from internationally sanctioned entities. That said, it is worth highlighting that Nepomniachtchi’s personal views are vastly different to those of the Russian state, as he was one of the 44 Russian chess players who signed an open letter to Vladimir Putin in March 2022 expressing firm opposition to the war and solidarity with the Ukrainian people. These same propagandistic concerns can of course also be said for how the PRC may view a victory for Ding, should he prevail. From this perspective, neither options are good for the marketability and health of chess, as it approaches a zenith of popularity in the West, with both having political implications.

FIDE was approached for comment, but after several hours, has not given any.

Some will say that such political considerations have no place within sport. But how can that be true for chess when the sport has regularly been co-opted for political ends, from Fischer versus Spassky right through to Russia’s official diplomatic efforts in 2018’s FIDE presidential elections?

But the politics is not the players’ fault; and controversies aside, a new World Champion in classical chess is a major event. Both Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi richly deserve their chance at glory; and we look forward along with all chess lovers to what the next few weeks has in store for us.

10:00 CET

Multiple stories from the past surface in social media prior to the match. Susan Polgar shares a nice experience from over 10 years ago

9:50 CET

Russia is not the only country setting up fan zones. One such will be in the Max Euwe chess center in Amsterdam

9:45 CET

The match is as popular as ever in Russia. With a realistic chance for the title to return to Russia, something that has not happened since Kramnik held it in his hands, the local fans are gearing up for the match. A fan zone has been created in the Botvinnik club in Moscow. Attendance is free and a parallel children tournament has been organized. Another fan zone is being created in Izmailovo, parallel to the Russian youth and junior chess championships that are expected to collect more than 1500 players. See all news on Ian Nepomniachtchi here

9:30 CET

Four hours and thirty minutes remain to the start of the opening ceremony of the World Chess Championship 2023. We continue following the events live from Astana, as news keeps coming.


9:30 CET

GM Anand, GM Irina Krush and GM Dubov will be the official commentators of the Ding – Nepo 2023 match. GM Dubov published his first preview a few days ago. Now he goes in more details in a second video about the World Chess Championship 2023. In a recent interview for Fiona Steil-Antoni during the Armageddon Series, Dubov said, “Magnus would beat both Nepo and Ding rather easily. Ding’s A game is probably better than Ian’s but if they’re both not at their best I would say Ian has much better chances. His low is not that low!” In the video here he goes deeper into this.

9:15 CET

Ding Liren gave multiple interviews during his first days in Astana. “Topalov vs. Kramnik in 2006 was the first match I paid attention to. At that time, I never thought that one day I would stand on this stage.” More statements from Ding Liren in Dr. Dudayeff’s report

9:00 CET

The Nepo – Ding match will be held at the St. Regis Astana hotel, a relatively new hotel with short history. The St. Regis brags to be designed by British architects WATG and features an award-winning design by Wimberly Interiors that combines modern with neo-classical elements. That sounds like a great start, but many top chess events have suffered from organizational blunders, related to logistics, food, playing hall conditions and more. That is why we are closely following the actual playing conditions in the St. Regis.

The first words from both camps are that they are generally satisfied with the conditions and the playing hall. Multiple questions were raised in the past days, but all seems in order in the currently empty playing hall. Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren avoid meeting in person, but both of them had a tour around the playing hall. Chairs were tried, walls were stared at, and photo session taken.

Food has been an issue for Ding in the 2022 Candidates where he even started cooking his own rice. At St. Regis everything seems in order and initial reports show Ding Liren is happy with the food in Astana. Here is a photo of Ding Liren during one of the multiple photo sessions he had before the match in the hotel.