Bereit zum Start: Alles, was Sie über die FIDE-Weltjugend-U16-Schacholympiade wissen müssen

A very special event will start in Eindhoven on Sunday 13 August: the FIDE World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad. Around 250 top talents (boys and girls) from all over the world play chess for six days in a row. And at the same time, there is another event: the Open World Dutch Women’s Top 10 Championship.

We are ready to start!

Below you can read everything you need to know.

1. The FIDE World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad, what’s that?

This is an important chess tournament of the international chess federation FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs ) for youth teams of all national chess federations in the world. This is a kind of world championship for youth teams.

2. Who participates? How many participants are there?

67 teams from 50 different countries from all over the world will play in the World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad. Each team has 4 players (at least 1 boy and at least 1 girl). The rule is that the players should not have reached the age of 16 on January 1, 2023. Some federations have additional teams. For example, Kazakhstan plays with 5 teams, the Netherlands with 4 teams, and Canada and Uganda both play with 3 teams.

3. What playing strength do these young players have?

The players are very talented. About 80 players have a FIDE rating above 2000. The player with the highest rating is Eray Kilic (Turkey) with 2433. You can see a list of all the players here.

4. Why is the Youth Olympiad in the Netherlands?

An event of the FIDE in the Netherlands is very rare! But it is no coincidence that the Youth Olympiad in 2023 has been awarded to the Netherlands. The Royal Dutch Chess Federation (KNSB) exists 150 years and celebrates that with all kinds of activities. The KNSB is the oldest national chess federation in the world. But chess is certainly also very popular among the youth. That is why the KNSB has made an effort to bring in the Youth Olympiad.

5. What is the game schedule?

The Youth Olympiad opening ceremony is on Sunday 13 August. 3:00 PM. The 1st round starts at 4:00 PM. There are chess games every day throughout the week. The last chessday is Friday, August 18. There are 9 rounds in total. The time control in the games is 45 minutes with an increment of 10 seconds per move starting from move 1.

6. What side events are there?

During the tournament, there are fun events in different locations in the town to promote chess. For example, Mr. X will play chess against anyone who wants to play with him. Mr. X is a very special person. He (or she?) is a very good chess player, but no one knows who he or she is, because this player is in a chess suit so that no one can see him or her.

7. And a very nice tournament to promote chess for women!

There is also another top event in Eindhoven: the Open World Dutch Women’s Top 10 Championship. The first round will be played on August 10. The closing ceremony will be held on August 18 together with that of the Youth Olympiad. All rounds start at 2:00 PM (Central European Time), except the last one, which starts at 10:30 AM (CET). With an average rating of 2341 and several IMs and WGMs participating we are very much looking forward to the start of the Women’s Top 10. It’s a very nice tournament to promote chess for women.

8. Where does everything take place?

The Youth Olympiad will be played at the smartest square kilometer in Europe: the High Tech Campus Eindhoven. The campus is built around an ecosystem of 260 companies with a range of application fields. Home to over 12.500 innovators, researchers, engineers that create the technologies and business of tomorrow. The special tournament for the women will take place in the Van der Valk Hotel, about 3 kilometers from there.

Photo: High Tech Campus Eindhoven official website

9. How can I see the tournament?

Of course, you can come and see the games yourself. But you can also see it anywhere in the world via computer or smartphone. All the games will be broadcast live. Also there will be live broadcast with commentators IM Stefan Kuipers and FM Anna-Maja Kazarian. The Content Team will bring interviews, photos, and videos every day.

10. Who made it all possible?

We would like to thank the Ministry of VWS, the province of North Brabant, the municipality of Eindhoven, BrabantSport, the High Tech Campus, ASML, DGT, Van der Valk and Thinc ahead.

Maes van Lanschot of the municipality thinks it’s great that the Youth Olympiad is taking place in Eindhoven: “We would like to welcome all young chess players to the ‘smartest square kilometer’ in the world, our High Tech Campus.”

Bianca Muhren (KNSB): “Incredibly great that in our jubilee year as the oldest chess federation in the world, we managed to bring an international youth championship to the Netherlands, with a new international women top tournament as a bonus. We are going to make it an unforgettable event!”

Michel Reinders (BrabantSport): “This international tournament suits our innovation region to attract talents to Brabant. With the Youth Olympiad in Eindhoven, we give the brightest talents the chance to shine on the highest chess stage.”

Niels Cannegieter (organization and event agency Thinc ahead): “Thinking ahead is not only in our DNA, but also in our name. We are proud that we were able to organise this event in the Netherlands together with the chess federation.”

Official website: youtholympiad2023.fide.com/