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44th Chess Olympiad

The 2022 Chess Olympiad, officially known as the 44th Chess Olympiad, took place in Mamallapuram, a small town near Chennai, India, from July 28 to August 10, 2022. This was the 44th edition of the World Chess Federation's (FIDE) team tournament.

The event was initially scheduled for Chanty-Mansiysk in 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and eventually moved to Moscow before being reassigned at short notice to Chennai, India, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Due to a heat wave that broke out over Chennai early in July, which posed significant health concerns for European participants, the tournament was relocated to Mamallapuram.

The 44th Chess Olympiad set several participation records, with 186 teams participating in the Open Tournament and 159 teams taking part in the Women's Tournament. This marked a new record for both events. The host country, India, fielded three teams each in both tournaments, marking their Olympic debut at the Open Tournament.

The tournament also saw the participation of several countries that made their chess Olympiad debuts, including Equatorial Guinea, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, and Chad. In contrast to traditional men's-only teams participating in the open tournament, this edition featured 13 women competing for various national teams, setting a new record.

The event was notable for its absence of several top-ranked countries due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The teams from Russia and Belarus were excluded from the tournament, while China, as the defending champion of both tournaments, failed to participate due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite these challenges, the 44th Chess Olympiad was a significant event that brought together chess players from around the world. Sanjay Kapoor, who later became president of the All India Chess Federation (AICF), served as the president of the organizing committee for this edition of the tournament.