Chess at the 2000 Summer Olympics

Chess at the 2000 Summer Olympics

Olympic Village, Sydney, Australia
24 September 2000
	Alexei Shirov	Viswanathan Anand
	1 Scores 1 Game 1 ½ ? move draw ½ Game 2 ½ ? move draw ½
	Born 4 July 1972 28	Born 11 December 1969 30
	(World No. 3)	(World No. 8)

The Olympic Village Athletes' Chess Exhibition ^[1] was an unofficial exhibition sport at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) supervised two matches between Viswanathan Anand of India and Alexei Shirov of Spain, which took place in the Sydney Olympic Village. ^{[2] [3]} Matches were held in a fast chess format, with each player having 30 minutes total playing time. ^[4] Both games held on 24 September 2000 ended in draws. ^{[4] [5] [6]}

The International Chess Federation was recognized by the IOC in 1999. ^[7] Chess has not featured at any Olympic Games before or since 2000, though it was included in the 2023 Olympic Esports Week run by the IOC. ^[8]

References

1. "General Program". The Olympic Village Athletes' Chess Exhibition. FIDE Commerce. 7 December 2000. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
2. "GRANDMASTERS EXHIBIT SKILLS AT THE OLYMPICS". Sun Sentinel. 1 October 2000. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
3. "Chess masters campaign for Olympic inclusion". BBC News. 27 September 2000. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
4. Berry, Jonathan (30 September 2000). "CHESS". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
5. Townsend, Bill (15 October 2000). "Chess Corner". The Sunday Gazette. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
6. "Olympic Athletes' Village Chess Exhibition". FIDE Commerce PLC. 9 November 2000. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
7. Zaccardi, Nick (29 April 2015). "Chess official: We'll use pieces made of ice to get into Winter Olympics". NBC Sports. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
8. Barker, Philip (30 July 2023). "Chess to target cultural programme at Los Angeles 2028 Olympics". insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 15 April 2024.