Baku, September 13, AZERTAC

The 42nd Chess Olympiad has ended with a solemn closing ceremony at the National Gymnastics Arena in Baku.

Participants in the ceremony included Chairman of the Organizing Committee of Baku Chess Olympiad, Azerbaijan`s first Deputy Prime Minister Yaqub Eyyubov, Minister of Youth and Sport Azad Rahimov, President of World Chess Federation (FIDE) Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, President of Azerbaijan Chess Federation Elman Rustamov, world chess champions, state and government officials.

The Chess Olympiad is one of the major events in the world of sports, attracting more than 150 countries and around 3,000 athletes and officials. FIDE organized the first Official Olympiad (the name “Olympiad” became official only in 1952) in 1927 in London. The Olympiads were held occasionally and at irregular intervals until World War II. There was a long break from 1939 until 1950 but since 1950 they have been held regularly every two years. 41 Olympiads have been organized since 1927.

The 42nd Olympiad in Baku will come down in history with a record-breaking participation of teams representing 176 countries - a total of 181 men`s and 142 women’s teams will compete in this sporting event.

The Organizing Committee was set up by an order of President Ilham Aliyev on February 14, 2013 with the aim of ensuring excellent organization of the Chess Olympiad. The Organizing Committee has done a great job to fulfil this task. Perfect conditions were created at Baku Crystal Hall, where the games of the Olympiad will take place. Visa regulations for athletes and delegates visiting Azerbaijan were simplified under the President`s order. All measures were taken to ensure safety of the athletes. Over 500 volunteers were engaged.

More than 250 local and foreign media representatives covered the Chess Olympiad.

In parallel with the Olympiad Baku will hosted FIDE Congress, which saw participation of delegates from 183 countries.