24th Chess Olympiad
The 24th Chess Olympiad (Maltese: L-24 Olimpijadi taċ-Ċess), organized by FIDE and comprising an open[1] and a women's tournament, as well as several other events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between November 20 and December 6, 1980, in Valletta, Malta.
Once again, the defending champions Hungary proved to be a real match for the Soviet favourites. The Hungarians led the table until the last round, but in the end the two teams tied for first place. The Soviet Union had a slightly better tie break score and took back the gold medals after six years. Yugoslavia completed the medal ranks.
The Soviet team was captained by the reigning world champion Karpov (who fell ill during the tournament and didn't perform to his usual standard) and featured a former champion (Tal) as well as a future one: 17-year-old Olympic debutant Kasparov, who in his first appearance took a bronze medal on the 2nd reserve board.
The Buchholz points deciding the gold medal between the Soviet Union and Hungary were determined by the Scotland-Greece match in the last round. Members of the Hungarian team maintain to this day that Kasparov illegally advised the Greek players during the match whom eventually won 3.5 - 0.5 and thus the Soviet team got the better tie break than Hungary. Earlier in the last round Kasparov reached only a draw against Denmark's Jacob Øst-Hansen, and was allegedly scolded by Viktor Baturinsky the vice chairman of the Soviet Chess Federation.[2]
Open event
A total of 81 nations played a 14-round Swiss system tournament. To make for an even number of teams, the Maltese hosts also fielded a "B" team. In the event of a draw, the tie-break was decided first by using the Buchholz system, then by match points.
Individual medals
- Board 1:
Bill Hook 11½/14 = 82.1% - Board 2:
Yrjö Rantanen 9½/13 = 73.1% - Board 3:
José Félix Villarreal 9/11 = 81.8% - Board 4:
István Csom 7/9 = 77.8% - 1st reserve:
Yury Balashov (7½/10) and 
Bjørn Tiller (6/8) = 75.0% - 2nd reserve:
Predrag Nikolić 6½/8 = 81.3%
Best game
The 'Best Game' prize went to Jonathan Mestel (England) - Nils Gustaf Renman (Sweden) from round 13.
Women's event
42 teams took part in the women's event which for the first time was played as a 14-round Swiss system tournament. In the event of a draw, the tie-break was decided first by using the Buchholz system, then by match points.
Like the open event, the women's tournament proved to be a tight affair between the Soviet Union and Hungary, with the Soviet team, captained by world champion Chiburdanidze, winning by half a point. Poland took the bronze.
Individual medals
- Board 1: Maia Chiburdanidze 11½ / 13 = 88.5%
- Board 2: Nona Gaprindashvili 9½ / 12 = 79.2%
- Board 3:
Daniela Nuţu 7½ / 10 = 75.0% - Reserve: Nana Ioseliani 7½ / 9 = 83.3%
References
- ^ Although commonly referred to as the men's division, this section is open to both male and female players.
- ^ "Kaszparov kereken 40 éve krampuszt adott a magyaroknak Mikulásra". Magyar Nemzet (in Hungarian). 2020-12-06. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
- 24th Chess Olympiad: La Valletta 1980 OlimpBase
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