36th Chess Olympiad

The 36th Chess Olympiad (Spanish: La 36a Olimpíada de ajedrez; Catalan: La 36a Olimpíada d'escacs), organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising an open[note 1] and a women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between October 14 and October 31, 2004, in Calvià on the Spanish island of Mallorca.

FIDE Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov was present, however, and led Uzbekistan to 14th place by going undefeated in his 8 games (+4-0=4).

They then defeated the silver and bronze medallists from the previous Olympiad, Russia and Poland (each 2–1), in the sixth and eighth rounds, respectively.

Eventually they carried a six-point lead into a tenth round match with second placed United States.

China, though, defeated sixth-seed India and 12th-seed Slovakia in the final two rounds, scoring four points to preserve what was ultimately a three-point win and to clinch the Vera Menchik Trophy for a fourth consecutive time.

Second-seed Russia were led by Nadezhda Kosintseva, who won top honours on the first reserve board for scoring 10 points in 12 rounds.

Although first board Maya Chiburdanidze (ex-World Champion) and second board Nana Dzagnidze, who both scored 8½ points for their team over the event, drew their matches, third board Lela Javakhishvili lost to Kosintseva, giving the Russian team a half-point lead over Georgia; although Georgia defeated Ukraine 2½-½ in the final round, Russia managed to secure two points against France, equalling Georgia's total and winning the bronze medals on tie-breaks.

Newly crowned World Champion Antoaneta Stefanova disappointed as captain of the Bulgarian team, scoring only 5½ points in 11 games.

The Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy is awarded to the nation that has the best average rank in the open and women's divisions.

Two players, Shaun Press of Papua New Guinea and Bobby Miller of Bermuda, refused, for various reasons, to submit urine samples for analysis.

Chess-oriented art was displayed at an International Chess Fair, with prizes for top works awarded by a jury.