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1st unofficial Chess Olympiad

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The 1st Team Chess Tournament was held together with the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, 12–20 July 1924, at the Hotel Majestic. Fifty-four players representing 18 countries were split into nine preliminary groups of six. The winner of each round qualified for the Championship while the rest joined an eight-round Swiss consolation tournament.[1][2] The event was organized by the French Chess Federation (FFE) after they unsuccessfully campaigned to include chess as an Olympic sport in the 1924 Summer Olympics.[3]

Edith Holloway played on the British team,[1] making her the first woman to play in an unofficial chess Olympiad, 26 years before the first woman played in an official chess Olympiad.[4]

Results

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The final results were as follows:

Amateur World Championship

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#PlayerPointsBuch
1 Hermanis Matisons (LAT)5.5
2 Fricis Apšenieks (LAT)5.0
3 Edgard Colle (BEL)4.5
4 Árpád Vajda (HUN)416.75
5 Machgielis Euwe (NED)415.75
6 Anatol Tschepurnoff (FIN)414.75
7 Luis Argentino Palau (ARG)3.5
8 Manuel Golmayo de la Torriente (ESP)3
9 Kornél Havasi (HUN)2.5

Consolation Cup

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#PlayerΣ PointsQual.Final
1 Karel Hromádka (TCH)9.536.5
2 Jan Schulz (TCH)945
3 Erwin Voellmy (SUI)8.53.55
4 Kārlis Bētiņš (LAT)826
 Georges Renaud (FRA)835
 Roberto Grau (ARG)83.54.5
 George Koltanowski (BEL)83.54.5
8 Giovanni Cenni (ITA)7.51.56
 Endre Steiner (HUN)7.525.5
 Otto Zimmermann (SUI)7.52.55
 Dawid Daniuszewski (POL)7.52.55
 Károly Sterk (HUN)7.534.5
 Damián Reca (ARG)7.53.54
14–45etc.

Individual medals

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#PlayerAchievement
1 Hermanis Matisons (LAT)Championship Final Winner
2 Fricis Apšenieks (LAT)Championship Final 2nd place
 Edgard Colle (BEL)Championship Final 3rd place
3 Árpád Vajda (HUN)Championship Final Participant
 Machgielis Euwe (NED)Championship Final Participant
 Anatol Tschepurnoff (FIN)Championship Final Participant
 Luis Argentino Palau (ARG)Championship Final Participant
 Manuel Golmayo de la Torriente (ESP)Championship Final Participant
 Kornél Havasi (HUN)Championship Final Participant
 Karel Hromádka (TCH)Consolation Cup Winner

Team classification

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#TeamPointsPlayers
1 Czechoslovakia31Hromádka 9½, Schulz 9, Vaněk 6½, Skalička 6
2 Hungary30Vajda 8, Sterk 7½, Steiner E. 7½, Havasi 7
3 Switzerland29Voellmy 8½, Zimmermann 7½, Johner H. 6½, Naegeli
4 Latvia27.5Apšenieks 10, Matisons 9½, Bētiņš 8
 Argentina27.5Grau 8, Reca 7½, Palau 7, Fernández Coria 5
6 Italy26.5Cenni 7½, Rosselli del Turco 7, Romih 6½, Miliani
7 France25.5Renaud 8, Lazard F. 6½, Duchamp 6, Gibaud 5
 Poland25.5Daniuszewski 7½, Piltz 6, Kohn 6, Kleczyński 6
9 Belgium24Colle 8½, Koltanowski 8, Lancel 5, Jonet 2½
10 Spain19Golmayo Torriente 7, Marin y Llovet 6, Rey Ardid 6
11 Netherlands18.5Euwe 8, Oskam 6, Rueb
12 Romania18Davidescu 7, Gudju 6, Loewenton 5
13 Finland15Tschepurnoff 9, Malmberg 6
14 Great Britain12.5Handasyde 6, Wreford-BrownHolloway 3
15 Irish Free State5.5O'Hanlon
16 Canada5Smith 5
17RussiaRussia[a]4.5Potemkine 3, Kahn
18 Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes2.5Rozić 2½


FIDE

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On 20 July, the last day of the games, 15 delegates from all over the World signed the proclamation act of the International Chess Federation (originally known as Fédération Internationale des Échecs in French) and elected Alexander Rueb of the Netherlands the first FIDE president.

Latin motto Gens una sumus ("we are one family") became official and well-recognized watchword of the chess unity. Below is the historic list of 15 founders of FIDE: Abonyi (Hungary), Grau (Argentina), Gudju (Romania), Marusi (Italy), Nicolet (Switzerland), Ovadija (Yugoslavia), Penalver y Zamora (Spain), Rawlins (Great Britain), Rueb (Netherlands), Skalička (Czechoslovakia), Smith (Canada), Towbin (Poland), Tschepurnoff (Finland), Vincent (France), Weltjens (Belgium).

Notes

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  1. Potemkine and Kahn were White émigrés living in Paris and represented "Russia", not the Soviet Union.

References

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  1. 1 2 OlimpBase :: Chess Olympiad Paris 1924: information
  2. Stanisław Gawlikowski Olimpiady szachowe 1924 - 1974 Wyd. Sport i Turystyka, Warszawa 1978
  3. "The 1st Chess Olympiad and creation of the FI(D)E - The first steps (1/4) - kwabc.org (en)". www.kwabc.org. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  4. Did you know that the first time a woman participated in a #ChessOlympiad was in 1950?, FIDE, Facebook, 11 July, 2022