Abu Dhabi has won the bid to host and organise the 47th Chess Olympiad in 2028. The winning bid was announced following electronic voting organised by the International Chess Federation, which featured the participation of 173 international federations, that resulted in Abu Dhabi winning 96 votes compared to 60 votes for Genoa, Italy.
The announcement was made in the presence of Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Sultan Bin Shakhbout Al Nahyan, President of the Asian Chess Federation and President of the Al Ain Chess and Mind Games Club, His Excellency Aref Hamad Al Awani, General Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, His Excellency Tarim Matar Tarim, President of the UAE Chess Federation, His Excellency Hussein Abdullah Al Khoury, President of the Abu Dhabi Chess and Mind Games Club, His Excellency Suhail Al Areefi, Executive Director of Events at the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Youssef Ahmed Basalib, Member of the Board of Directors and Secretary General of the Abu Dhabi Chess and Mind Games Club, Abdul Karim Hassan, Member of the Board of Directors of the UAE Chess Federation, Hisham Ali Al Taher, Secretary-General of the Asian Chess Federation, and Adel Al Yaqoubi, Director of International Events at the Abu Dhabi Sports Council.
The tournament, which will be held over two weeks, is expected to witness the participation of 200 federations in the male category, 160 federations in the female, and 80 federations under People of Determination, with each team in these categories consisting of 5 players and a reserve player.
The voting session was opened by His Excellency Aref Hamad Al Awani, addressing the federations with the question, Why should you choose Abu Dhabi?, which was followed by a short film about the capital city, showcasing its most important tourist and modern landmarks as well as providing an overview of the most important sporting events they had previously organised and hosted.
His Excellency Al Awani also spoke about what the city has to offer participants and what distinguishes it from others in terms of experience in dealing with large sporting events, particularly the location of the proposed Chess Olympiad and the hosting hotels. The presentation of the Abu Dhabi file concluded with a speech delivered by Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa Bin Shakhbout.
Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Shakhbout dedicated Abu Dhabi’s victory in winning the hosting rights to the 2028 World Chess Olympiad to His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and also thanked the Abu Dhabi Government, Abu Dhabi Sports Council, the UAE Chess Federation, the Abu Dhabi Chess and Mind Games Club, and the bid preparation team.
Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Sultan Bin Shakhbout Al Nahyan, President of the Asian Chess Federation and President of the Al Ain Chess and Mind Games Club, said: “Thanks also goes to our brothers from all our neighbouring Gulf and Arab countries who supported our candidacy and interacted with our file, and were happy at our joy, and wished us continued success, adding to our hopes of organising an exceptional edition that will benefit all the sports, economic and tourism sectors in the emirate.”
His Excellency Aref Hamad Al Awani, General Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, said: “Once again, we are on a date with a major global tournament, gathering thousands of competitors here in the capital, on the land of peace, tolerance, love, coexistence and safety.”
