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July 2024

The 1st Chess Olympiad and creation of the FI(D)E - Epilogue (4/4)

Zooming in on the photo. From left to right: Mrs Holloway (England - 1st woman to play an Olympiad), Edgar Colle (Belgium), Alexandre Alekhine, Pierre Vincent, Jonet (Belgium), Lucien Sauphar (Mayor of the IXth arrondissement)
Zooming in on the photo. From left to right: Mrs Holloway (England - 1st woman to play an Olympiad), Edgar Colle (Belgium), Alexandre Alekhine, Pierre Vincent, Jonet (Belgium), Lucien Sauphar (Mayor of the IXth arrondissement)

by Jean Oliver Leconte

Fourth and last article dedicated to the 1st Chess Olympiad and the creation of the FI(D)E.

Part one: The 1st Chess Olympiad and creation of the FI(D)E - The first steps (1/4)
Part two: The 1st Chess Olympiad and creation of the FI(D)E - Getting organized (2/4)
Part three: The 1st Chess Olympiad and creation of the FI(D)E - The Chess Tournament (3/4)

To begin with, here is a photo of the participants in the first Chess Olympiad, which appeared in the Belgian magazine L'Échiquier in 1925.

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The 1st Chess Olympiad and creation of the FI(D)E - The Chess Tournament (3/4)

by Jean Oliver Leconte

Third part of the articles dedicated to the 1st Chess Olympiad and the creation of the FI(D)E.

Part one: The 1st Chess Olympiad and creation of the FI(D)E - The first steps (1/4)
Part two: The 1st Chess Olympiad and creation of the FI(D)E - Getting organized (2/4)

I would particularly like to thank Mr Guy Gignac, who sent me an exceptional document. It is the programme for the "International Amateur Chess Tournament", photos of which you have on the left and below.

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The 1st Chess Olympiad and creation of the FI(D)E - Getting organized (2/4)

24/04/1924 Le Figaro
24/04/1924 Le Figaro

by Jean Oliver Leconte

Second part of the articles devoted to the 1st Chess Olympiad and the creation of the FI(D)E.

Part one: The 1st Chess Olympiad and creation of the FI(D)E - The first steps (1/4)

While the organisation of the grand tournament starts moving forward, the newspaper le Figaro ironises.

Chess and the Olympic Games

There will even be a chess tournament during the Olympic Games!
It is being organised under the patronage of Mr Fernand Gavarry, Minister Plenipotentiary, Commander of the Legion of Honour, and will take place from 12 to 20 July in the salons of a grand hotel in the Étoile district.
Most of the major chess federations will be taking part.
After the Muscle Festival, it will be a small gala for the Brain.

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The 1st Chess Olympiad and creation of the FI(D)E - The first steps (1/4)

The official FIDE centenary logo
The official FIDE centenary logo

by Jean Oliver Leconte

The year 2024 corresponds to the centenary of the creation of FIDE - Fédération Internationale Des Échecs. More precisely, it was in Paris on 20 July 1924 that FIDE was created (originally called FIE - The current acronym FIDE would be adopted at the 2nd FIDE Congress in Zurich, Switzerland in 1925, but the meaning did not vary: Fédération Internationale Des Échecs).

I propose to retrace this creation of FIDE, as well as the first Chess Olympiad via several articles. These two events are closely linked. Moreover, as we shall see, the idea of an International Chess Federation came after the launch of the organization of the international chess tournament alongside the Olympic Games.

This first part is devoted to the beginnings of the first Chess Olympiad.
To date, the FFE has said very little about this FIDE centenary event. You can find an article on its website here. But these events seem to me to be very meager (reconstruction of the act of signing the creation of FIDE and giant simultaneous).

There is no mention in these events, for example, of Pierre Vincent, the driving force behind the creation of FIDE. His grave is in the Montmartre cemetery.

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