The 43rd Chess Olympiad (Georgian: 43-ე საჭადრაკო ოლიმპიადა, 43-e sach’adrak’o olimp’iada; also known as the Batumi Chess Olympiad), organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising open and women's tournaments, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, was an international team chess event held in Batumi, Georgia, from 23 September to 6 October 2018. This was the first Chess Olympiad to take place in Georgia with the Georgian Chess Federation also hosting the Chess World Cup 2017 in Tbilisi.
The total number of participants was 1,667, with 920 in the Open and 747 in the Women's event. The number of registered teams was 185 from 180 nations in the Open section and 151 from 146 nations in the Women's section. Both sections set team participation records. The main venue of the Chess Olympiad was Sport Palace Batumi, while the opening ceremony took place in the Black Sea Arena and the closing ceremony was held in the Batumi State Music Centre. The Chief Arbiter of the event was Greece's International Arbiter Takis Nikolopoulos. (Full article...)