34th Chess Olympiad — Istanbul 2000

Russia holds the line on the Bosphorus
28 October – 12 November 2000 · Istanbul, Turkey
Russia won the 34th Chess Olympiad, held at Istanbul in 2000, scoring 38 game points across a field of 126 teams. Germany took silver (37) and Ukraine bronze (35½).
Event Index 3495 GAMES

The 34th Chess Olympiad drew a record 126 nations to Istanbul in the autumn of 2000. Russia arrived without Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik — locked away in London contesting the world championship — and without Anatoly Karpov, then estranged from the national federation. Even so, its remaining stars pieced together 38 game points to edge out a resurgent Germany and keep the gold that had followed the Soviet and Russian teams for half a century.

A field of 126 nations

Istanbul staged the largest Olympiad yet, with 126 teams in the open event playing fourteen rounds of a four-board Swiss. Match-ups were paired by result, and standings were settled first by game points, then on Buchholz and match points as tie-breaks. The women's event ran alongside with 86 teams over three boards.

Russia came in as the perennial favourite but with an unfamiliar squad. Kasparov and Kramnik were absent — their Classical World Championship match was underway in London that same fortnight — and Karpov remained at odds with the Russian federation. The gold medal would have to be won by the team's deep supporting cast rather than its household names.

One point at the top

Russia finished on 38 game points, a single point clear of Germany on 37 — a silver medal that stood among the finest results in postwar German chess. Ukraine took bronze on 35½, edging Hungary on tie-break with the two level on the same score. Israel (34½) and Georgia (34) rounded out the top six.

The margin never let Russia relax: with the marquee grandmasters away, the title came down to steadiness across all four boards rather than a runaway leader, and Germany pressed hard to the final round.

Individual honours

The board prizes spread the glory widely. Indonesia's Utut Adianto took board-one gold with 7½/9, while Ukraine's young Ruslan Ponomariov — soon to be FIDE World Champion — won board two on 8½/11. Dragoljub Jaćimović of North Macedonia claimed board three, and Armenia's Ashot Anastasian topped board four with 9/12. In the women's event, China took the gold ahead of Georgia and Russia.

Final standings

38
Russia won the 34th Chess Olympiad, held at Istanbul in 2000, scoring 38 game points across a field of 126 teams. Germany took silver (37) and Ukraine bronze (35½).

126 nations played a fourteen-round, four-board Swiss at Istanbul. 3,495 of the 3,528 games played survive; the rest were forfeits or games that haven't survived.

This archive holds 3495 of the 3528 games played; the standings above are the official final result.

# Team Points
1 Russia 38
2 Germany 37
3 Ukraine 35½
4 Hungary 35½
5 Israel 34½
6 Georgia 34
7 England 33
8 India 33
9 China 33
10 Switzerland 33
11 Uzbekistan 33
12 Slovenia 33
13 FYR Macedonia 33
14 Bulgaria 32½
15 Poland 32½
16 France 32½
17 Armenia 32
18 Bosnia & Herzegovina 32
19 The Philippines 32
20 Greece 32
21 Denmark 32
22 Cuba 32
23 Spain 32
24 Yugoslavia 32
25 Estonia 32
26 United States 31½
27 Romania 31½
28 Slovakia 31½
29 Canada 31½
30 Scotland 31½
31 Lithuania 31½
32 Belarus 31½
33 Netherlands 31
34 Latvia 31
35 Moldova 31
36 Australia 31
37 Vietnam 31
38 Brazil 30½
39 Czech Republic 30½
40 Singapore 30½
41 Kazakhstan 30
42 Sweden 30
43 Croatia 30
44 Indonesia 30
45 Finland 30
46 Azerbaijan 30
47 Portugal 30
48 Mongolia 30
49 Kyrgyzstan 29½
50 Egypt 29½
51 Ireland 29½
52 Norway 29½
53 Argentina 29½
54 Belgium 29½
55 Iceland 29
56 Italy 29
57 Chile 29
58 Bangladesh 29
59 Turkmenistan 28½
60 Austria 28½
61 Iran 28½
62 Turkey "A" 28½
63 Morocco 28½
64 Malaysia 28½
65 Peru 28½
66 Turkey "B" 28
67 Faroe Islands 28
68 Ecuador 28
69 Andorra 28
70 Republic of South Africa 28
71 Tunisia 28
72 Venezuela 27½
73 United Arab Emirates 27½
74 Luxembourg 27½
75 Paraguay 27½
76 Myanmar 27
77 Mexico 27
78 IBCA 27
79 Pakistan 27
80 Wales 27
81 Costa Rica 27
82 Qatar 27
83 Colombia 26½
84 Angola 26½
85 Iraq 26
86 Syria 26
87 New Zealand 26
88 Japan 26
89 Puerto Rico 26
90 Zambia 25½
91 Uruguay 25½
92 El Salvador 25½
93 Zimbabwe 25½
94 Sri Lanka 25½
95 Uganda 25½
96 Albania 25
97 Cyprus 25
98 Bolivia 25
99 Yemen 25
100 Liechtenstein 25
101 Barbados 25
102 Jamaica 24½
103 Kenya 24½
104 Surinam 24½
105 Honduras 24
106 Botswana 24
107 Netherlands Antilles 24
108 Palestine 24
109 Namibia 24
110 Malta 23½
111 Monaco 23½
112 Macau 23½
113 Hong Kong 23½
114 Mauritius 23½
115 Ethiopia 23½
116 Panama 23½
117 Jersey 23½
118 Trinidad & Tobago 23
119 San Marino 22½
120 Bermuda 20½
121 Brunei 20
122 Seychelles 20
123 Papua New Guinea 19½
124 Guernsey 18½
125 U.S. Virgin Islands 13½
126 Rwanda 7½
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