NICK BARNETT CHESS

By Wednesday 26th September, South African players had played two matches in the Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia. In round one the men met Haiti and won all their games. The women met Georgia (how their hearts must have sunk to hear of that pairing!) and lost all their games. In round two the men played Slovenia and did not score whereas the women won three and drew one against Hong Kong. It was the US Open team which got to go against Georgia in the second round and only managed one win (Wesley So) and three draws, including Caruana. Russia played Ireland who surprisingly managed to get a couple of draws out of it!

China played Columbia and won three and drew one. As the host of the Olympiad Georgia is allowed six teams – three men’s and three women’s. The men’s team competed with ICCD (International Chess Committee of the Deaf) from different countries. The second team of women won 4:0 against South Africa. The third team won with the same score against Seychelles. Results can be followed on www.chess-results.com. The Opening Ceremony of the 2018 Batumi Chess Olympiad was a spectacle of note, with lots of digital magic enhancing theatrical displays of chess-related themes accompanied by dancing and music. The entire ceremony can be viewed on Youtube. The organisers also have a Facebook page.

It is not surprising that our women’s team was roundly beaten by the Georgian team. Their women are legends, having once held the Women’s World Chess Champion title for just under 30 consecutive years. Nona Gaprindashvili became the Women’s World Chess Champion at the age of 21 in 1962. A five-time world champion, Nona helped to propel the Soviet Olympiad team to 11 team gold medals during her tenure. During this impressive run, she managed to earn nine individual gold medals. She is also the first woman in chess history to earn the grandmaster title. Nona’s success inspired generations of Georgians and daughters were often named Nona. They also signed up their children for chess lessons in record numbers. Chess in various forms was first introduced in Georgia in the 7th and 8th centuries. Traditionally, when Georgian women got married their parents would give them chess sets as part of their wedding presents. During Nona’s and Maya’s reigns, Georgia was still part of the Soviet Union. The then U.S.S.R. teams completely dominated world events and were comprised of many Georgian players. Once the U.S.S.R. broke, an independent Georgia took three consecutive gold medals during the 1992, 1994 and 1996 Olympiads.

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