Chess middlegame

The middlegame in chess refers to the portion of the game in between the opening and the endgame. There is no clear line between the opening and middlegame, and between the middlegame and endgame. In modern chess, the moves that make up an opening blend into the middlegame, so there is no sharp divide. At elementary level, both players will usually have completed the development of all or most pieces and the king will usually have been brought to relative safety. However, at master level, the opening analysis may go well into the middlegame.

Likewise, the middlegame blends into the endgame. There are differing opinions and criteria for when the middlegame ends and the endgame starts (see the start of the endgame). Factors such as control of the center are less important in the endgame than the middlegame. In endgames the number of pieces and pawns is much reduced, though even after queens are traded, one may talk about a "middlegame without queens." The endgame is often said to begin when the kings can safely play an active role.

Chess Olympiad

The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation.

The use of the name "Chess Olympiad" for FIDE's team championship is of historical origin and implies no connection with the Olympic Games.

Birth of the Olympiad

The first Olympiad was unofficial. For the 1924 Olympics an attempt was made to include chess in the Olympic Games but this failed because of problems with distinguishing between amateur and professional players. While the 1924 Summer Olympics was taking place in Paris, the 1st unofficial Chess Olympiad also took place in Paris. FIDE was formed on Sunday, July 20, 1924, the closing day of the 1st unofficial Chess Olympiad.

FIDE organised the first Official Olympiad in 1927 which took place in London. The Olympiads were occasionally held annually and at irregular intervals until World War II; since 1950 they have been held regularly every two years.

Recognized sport

Varuzhan Akobian

Varuzhan Akobian (born November 19, 1983 in Yerevan, Armenia) is an Armenian-born American chess grandmaster. Originally from Armenia, he now resides in Los Angeles. He played on the bronze-medal-winning U.S. team in the 2006 and 2008 Chess Olympiads.

Chess career

Akobian, an Armenian American, became an International Master at age 16. In 2001, he moved to the United States and one week after his 20th birthday in November 2003, earned the title of Grandmaster.

He won the World Open tournament in Philadelphia on three separate occasions; he shared first place in 2002 and won it outright in 2004 and 2007. In 2006 he tied for first in the San Marino tournament with a performance rating of 2796. In 2007 he tied for 1st–8th with Hikaru Nakamura, Alexander Shabalov, Darmen Sadvakasov, Zviad Izoria, Victor Mikhalevski, Magesh Chandran Panchanathan and Justin Sarkar in the Miami Open and came equal first in the American Continental Championship in Cali, Colombia. This qualified him for the Chess World Cup 2007, where he was eliminated in the first round. He also took part in the Chess World Cup 2009 and was knocked out by Ruslan Ponomariov in the second round.