Guyana’s finest players departed these shores on Wednes-day to represent the nation at the 43rd Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia. Representatives from some 170 countries are participating in the team championship tournament which begins today and will last for the next three weeks. The Olympiads are the largest gatherings of Elo-rated players for the purpose of playing chess.
Two years ago, at the last Olympiad, the USA erased its competition and took the gold.
World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway will be at the Olympiad. Vladimir Kramnik, a past world champ, will lead the Russian team and the Americans will be led by Fabiano Caruana.
The mighty Chinese would be led by Ding Liren, a top ten player and Cuba, the home of a previous world champion in the 1920s Jose Raul Capablanca, by Leinier Dominguez, a respected 2700 player. Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand, a former world champion, has announced that he will be leading India’s team at the Olympiad this year. Anand last participated at the Olympiad in 2006.
