Official logo of the Olympiad.

The 24th Chess Olympiad (Maltese: L-24 Olimpijadi taċ-Ċess), organized by FIDE and comprising an open[1] 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, 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.[2]

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.

Players in action at the game hall.
Open event
# Country Players Average
rating		 Points Buchholz MP
1  Soviet Union Karpov, Polugaevsky, Tal, Geller, Balashov, Kasparov 2666 39 449.5
2  Hungary Portisch, Ribli, Sax, Csom, Faragó, Pintér 2593 39 448.0
3  Yugoslavia Ljubojević, Ivkov, Parma, Kurajica, Marjanović, Nikolić 2541 35
4  United States Alburt, Seirawan, Christiansen, Tarjan, de Firmian, Shamkovich 2514 34
5  Czechoslovakia Hort, Smejkal, Jansa, Plachetka, Ftáčnik, Lechtýnský 2530 33
6  England Miles, Stean, Nunn, Speelman, Keene, Mestel 2520 32½ 453.0
7  Poland Sznapik, W. Schmidt, Kuligowski, Bielczyk, Pokojowczyk, Przewoźnik 2419 32½ 424.0
8  Israel Liberzon, Birnboim, Y. Gruenfeld, Murey, Kagan, D. Bernstein 2474 32 439.0
9  Canada Hébert, Day, Yanofsky, Vukadinov, Vranesic, Allan 2385 32 410.5
10  Netherlands Timman, Sosonko, Ree, Langeweg, van der Wiel, Ligterink 2533 31½ 449.5
11  Romania Gheorghiu, Ciocâltea, Șubă, Ghindă, Ghițescu, Stoica 2503 31½ 437.5
12  Sweden Andersson, L. Karlsson, Schneider, Schüssler, Wedberg, Renman 2473 31½ 434.0
13  Cuba García Gonzáles, García Martínez, Rodríguez Céspedes, Nogueiras, Hernández, Vera González 2468 31½ 424.5
14  Argentina Quinteros, Rubinetti, Debarnot, Schweber, Giardelli, Hase 2454 31 439.0
15  Philippines Torre, Mascariñas, R. Rodríguez, Pacis, Bernal, Ramos 2390 31 430.5
16  Denmark Jakobsen, Høi, Fedder, Mortensen, Øst-Hansen, Pedersen 2408 31 427.5
17  France Haïk, Giffard, Seret, L. Roos, Goldenberg, D. Roos 2381 31 415.0
18  Wales Williams, Cooper, Hutchings, Jones, Johnston 2325 31 395.0
19  Bulgaria Ermenkov, Tringov, Radulov, Georgiev, Popov, Spasov 2473 30½ 454.0
20  Finland Westerinen, Rantanen, Hurme, Ristoja, Mäki, Pirttimäki 2401 30½ 431.0
21  Austria Robatsch, Hölzl, Herzog, Roth, Wittmann, Wagner 2381 30½ 414.0
22  Italy Tóth, Zichichi, Taruffi, Passerotti, Trabattoni, Iannaccone 2334 30½ 409.0
23  Iceland F. Ólafsson, H. Ólafsson, Árnason, Pétursson, Hjartarson, Jóhannsson 2474 30 434.5
24  Norway Helmers, Heim, Hoen, Moen, Tiller, Sande 2369 30 421.5
25  Germany Pfleger, Hecht, Borik, Lobron, Hermann, Kunsztowicz 2451 30 420.0
26  Spain Díez del Corral, Bellón López, Pomar, Rivas Pastor, Sanz Alonso, Gómez Esteban 2425 30 416.5
27  Greece Makropoulos, Skembris, Skalkotas, Pountsas, Natsis, Trikaliotis 2365 30 402.5
28  Venezuela Ostos, Fernández, Palacios, Dounia, Escalante 2311 30 399.5
29  Brazil Sunye Neto, Carvalho, Lucena, van Riemsdijk, Câmara, Gentil 2374 30 397.0
30  Syria Catalan, Hakki, Beitar, Arafeh, Kassabe 2235 30 394.5
31  Switzerland Hug, Wirthensohn, Huss, Hammer, Züger, Franzoni 2391 29½
32  Colombia García, Zapata, Castro, Cuartas, Acosta, González Rodríguez 2423 29 419.0
33  Albania Muço, Adhami, Pustina, Zadrima, Qendro, Karkanaqe 2319 29 415.5
34  Australia Rogers, Jamieson, Johansen, Fuller, Shaw, West 2361 29 410.5
35  India Ravisekhar, Ravikumar, Khan, Meetei, Hassan 2325 29 410.0
36  Chile Morovic, Campos Moreno, Cifuentes, Silva Sánchez, Donoso Velasco, Velasquez Ojeda 2388 29 408.5
37  Mexico Frey Beckman, Campos López, Félix Villarreal, Maya, Ocampo, Navarro 2359 29 396.0
38  China Liu Wenzhe, Qi Jingxuan, Liang Jinrong, Li Zunian, Tang Hongjian 2380 28½ 411.5
39  Portugal Silva, Fernandes, J. Santos, L. Santos, Durão 2351 28½ 406.0
40  Belgium Meulders, De Bruycker, Deleyn, Goormachtigh, Defize, Schumacher 2233 28½ 395.0
41  Ireland Delaney, Dunne, Doyle, Ludgate, Curtin, McCarthy 2255 28½ 391.5
42  Thailand Chaivichit, Sinprayoon, Trisa-Ard, Darakorn 2225 28½ 390.0
43  Pakistan Mirza, Farooqui, Zafar, Chaudry, Ahmad, Rana 2238 28½ 372.5
44  Dominican Republic Álvarez, Abreu, Gonzáles, Mateo, Pérez Nivar 2258 28 399.0
45  Indonesia Handoko, Suradiradja, Arif, Ardiansyah, Gunawan, Kusnadi 2354 28 397.5
46  Mongolia Myagmarsuren, Tumurbator, Jigjidsuren, Lhagva 2328 27½ 402.5
47  Paraguay Gamarra Cáceres, Ferreira, Bogda, Santacruz 2255 27½ 387.0
48  Turkey İpek, Gümrükçüoğlu, Öney, Süer, Pamuk 2259 27½ 384.5
49  Malaysia Liew Chee Meng, Foo Lum Choon, Chang Hing Wah, Cheah Woon Leng, Abdul Rahman 2200 27½ 378.0
50  Trinidad and Tobago Lee, Raphael, Duchesne, Lee, Mohipp, Ramon-Fortune 2200 27½ 370.5
51  Scotland Pritchett, Swanson, Upton, McNab, Norris, Bonner 2291 27 423.5
52  Japan Gonda, Takemoto, T. Shiraki, Sakurai, T. Hirata, Sugimoto 2213 27 373.0
53  Guyana M. Broomes, G. Broomes, Wharton, R. Austin, J. Macedo 2203 26½ 369.0 13
54  Luxembourg Haas, Feller, Stull, Schammo, Specchio, Kirsch 2230 26½ 369.0 12
55  Algeria Baghli, Cherrad, Slimani, Kharchi, R. Bounedjar, Belamine 2200 26½ 351.0
56  New Zealand Chandler, Sarapu, Small, Aptekar, Anderson 2336 26 401.0
57  Lebanon Kouatly, Sursock, Abouchaaya, Khechen, N. Saade 2243 26 389.5
58  Tunisia Bouaziz, Belkadi, Hmadi, Ouechtati, Doghri, L. Hamzaoui 2279 26 387.5
59  Egypt Soliman, Fatin, El-Said, Afifi, Sadek, Hamed 2200 25½ 391.0
60  United Arab Emirates N. A. Said, S. A. Said, N. M. Said, Ghubash, Qasim, Saleh 2200 25½ 379.0
61  Malta Attard, Camilleri, Gouder, Sollars, Gauci, G. Borg 2226 25½ 376.5
62  Zimbabwe Donnely, Barlow, V. Strugo, Levy, Kuwaza, T. Klement 2200 25½ 369.5
63  Puerto Rico M. Colón Romero, Ochoa, Moraza Choisme, Vázquez Ramos, Sosa, Falcón 2201 25½ 357.0
-  Malta "B" Cilia Vincenti, Vella Gera, Psaila, Thake, Vasallo, A. Borg 2200 25½ 355.5
64  Jamaica Wheeler, Powell, A. Niederhoffer, Cameron 2200 25½ 348.5
65  United States Virgin Islands Van Tilbury, R. Grim, Grumer, Turner, Chiu Yum San, D. Delzell 2233 25½ 333.0
66  Hong Kong Kan Wai Shui, Lin, Chao, Luk Luen Wah, M. Camm, R. Murphy 2235 25 349.0
67  Guernsey Fulton, Blow, Newman, Knight, Lainé, Bisson 2200 25 345.0
68  Jordan S. Bukhari, Bakr, M. Bukhari, Kilani, Arafat 2200 25 323.5
69  Cyprus Martidis, Riza, Aristotelous, Hadjiyiannis, Kleopas 2200 24½ 356.0
70  Kenya Kanani, Adam, Yongo, Donde, Kinyanjui, S. Oulo 2200 24½ 318.5
71  Nigeria Omuku, Agusto, O. Faseyitan, E. Awobokun, O. Ayoola 2200 23½ 361.0
72  Faroe Islands Ziska, Apol, Vilhelm, Midjord, Joensen 2200 24½ 355.0
73  Andorra Santamaría Mas, Clua Ballague, J. A. Pantebre Martínez, De la Casa, Gómez Abad, B. Pantebre Martínez 2200 23½ 345.5
74  Libya M. Hingary, Tawengi, El-Mejbri, Benohman, Ali Dreibika, Talha 2200 23½ 344.0
75  British Virgin Islands Hook, Jarecki, Georges, Solomon 2216 23½ 326.0
76  Bermuda Wojciechowski, Harris, Radford, Chudleigh, Dill, Tee 2200 23 326.0
77  Zaire De Vries, Ciezkowski, Buysschaert, Callens, Claeys 2200 23 319.5
78  Monaco Caruana, Negro, Girault, Lepine, Bernard, Angles d'Auriac 2200 20½
79  Papua New Guinea B. Whyte, F. Conejares, Hothersall, Markov, Marko, Puru 2200 19½
80  Uganda Zabasajja, O. Musasira, Mungyereza, Kisubi, Kamuhangire, Kiiza 2200 17½
81  Angola Fonseca de Oliveira, Adão Domingos, De Meireles, Ferreira, V. Marques Alves, Saraiva de Carvalho 2200 13½

Individual medals

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.

# Country Players Average
rating		 Points Buchholz MP Head-
to-head
1  Soviet Union Chiburdanidze, Gaprindashvili, Alexandria, Ioseliani 2370 32½
2  Hungary Verőci-Petronić, Ivánka, Porubszky-Angyalosine, Csonkics 2232 32
3  Poland Ereńska-Radzewska, Szmacińska, Wiese, Brustman 2148 26½
4  Romania Polihroniade, Baumstark, Nuțu, Mureșan 2200 26
5  West Germany Fischdick, B. Hund, Laakmann, I. Hund 2152 24 339.5
6  China Liu Shilan, Wu Mingqian, An Yangfeng 1843 24 338.5
7  Israel Glaz, Kristol, Podrazhanskaya, Nudelman 2113 23½ 339.5
8  Yugoslavia Marković, Dragašević, Štadler, Prokopović 2142 23½ 333.5
9  Bulgaria Lematschko, Bojadjieva, Voyska, Angelova 2138 23 340.0
10  Brazil Abreu Carvalho, Chaves, Cardoso, Longo 1850 23 300.5
11  Spain García Vicente, Ferrer Lucas, García Padrón, Cuevas Rodríguez 2122 22½ 331.0
12  Argentina Soppe, Arias, Justo, Vázquez 1913 22½ 314.0
13  United States Savereide, Crotto, Haring, Frenkel 2092 22 334.0
14  England Miles, Jackson, Caldwell, Whitehead 2160 22 332.5
15  France Merlini, Ruck-Petit, Schall, Legendre 1942 22 312.5
16  Australia Mott-McGrath, Hawkesworth, Slavotinek, Martin 1870 22 302.5
17  Netherlands Vreeken, Belle, van Parreren, Bruinenberg 2092 21½ 323.0
18  Colombia Guggenberger, Leyva, Maya de Alzate, Patiño 1888 21½ 311.0
19  Canada Shterenberg, Roos, Das, Day 1938 21½ 305.0 15 2½
20  Italy Pernici, Gramignani, Merciai, Deghenghi 1935 21½ 305.0 15 ½
21  Sweden Borisova-Ornstein, Aatolainen, Nyberg, Samuelsson 1962 21½ 297.5
22  Iceland Kristinsdóttir, Tráinsdóttir, Friðþjófsdóttir, Norðdahl 1800 21½ 279.0
23  Dominican Republic García Portes, A. R. Marino, Cuevas 1800 21½ 263.5
24  Greece Fouriki, A. Efremoglou, Petraki, K. Mihailidou 1800 21½ 253.0
25  India J. Khadilkar, R. Khadilkar, V. Khadilkar, Thipsay 2075 21 305.5
26  Ireland Cronin, Delaney, O'Siochrú, Connolly 1818 21 287.5
27  Wales Garwell, Evans, James, Brunker 1930 21 277.0
28  Scotland Hindle, Elder, Jackson, Houstoun 1817 20½ 286.0
29  New Zealand Foster, Stretch, Brightwell, Flower 1800 20½ 239.0
30  Denmark Thygesen, Haahr, Berg, Larsen 1875 20 291.5
31  Switzerland Veprek, Bürgin, Schladetzky, Meyer 1907 20 279.0
32  Mexico Camps de Ocampo, Salazar, Escondrillas 1827 20 233.0
33  Austria Hennings, Hausner, Samt, Kattinger 1938 19½ 291.0
34  Finland Sirkka-Liisa Landry, Palasto, Laitinen, Pihlajamäki 1900 19½ 283.0
35  Egypt Basta Sohair, Izmael, A. Samy Maha, Ibrahim 1800 19½ 234.0
36  Japan Takahashi, Watai, Nakagawa 1817 19 283.0
37  Belgium Careme, De Corte, Schumacher, Loo 1800 19 235.0
38  Malta Grech-Sollars, Sciortino, Lentini, Fiott 1800 15
39  Puerto Rico Rodríguez Ramírez, Irizarry Adequin, Latorre Vélez, Martorell Martínez 1800 14½
40  United Arab Emirates Ahmad, N. Saleh, Karim, Hassan 1800 13½
41  United States Virgin Islands Widmer, Quenzel, Grumer 1800 4
42  Nigeria Isong, Olusola 1800 1

Individual medals

References

  1. ^ Although commonly referred to as the men's division, this section is open to both male and female players.
  2. ^ "Kaszparov kereken 40 éve krampuszt adott a magyaroknak Mikulásra". Magyar Nemzet (in Hungarian). 2020-12-06. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
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