Tromsø Olympiad 2014

With its 75.000 inhabitants, including 10.000 university students, Tromsø has all the amenities of “a small large city”. Chess players around the world will discover a friendly and open-minded population with hotels of excellent international standard, an attractive restaurant scene and a diversity of cultural activities. Tromsø has a very active chess environment, and hosts an annual international Chess festival, Arctic Chess Challenge, in August every year. The tournament will be further upgraded in the coming years in order to prepare for the potential Olympiad in 2014.

“Being elected as the host city of the Chess Olympiad in 2014 is a major ambition for our city”, says Tromsø mayor Arild Hausberg. “We promise the chess world a unique experience combining competent and experienced organizing skills in a friendly and exciting environment. And the event, if we succeed in winning the bid, will engage the whole city to the pleasure of the participants and the population. A comprehensive cultural program will be an integrated part of a Chess Olympiad in Tromsø”, concludes the mayor.

The preparation for the bid is well under way, and the bidding committee has been actively engaged for most of 2008. Active working relations with the Norwegian government will secure sufficient support. The bidding committee brings a committee of Olympic and chess expertise.

Its chairman is the former managing director of the Lillehammer Olympic Organizing Committee, (17th Winter Olympics 1994), Mr. Henrik Andenæs, a business professional, working alongside the President of the Norwegian Chess Federation, Mr. Jøran Aulin Jansson, as vice chairman. General Manager is Mr. Børge Johan Robertsen.

By Øystein Brekke, chairman of the anniversary committee 2004-2006.

What makes Tromsø exceptional is its magnificent nature. Located north of the Arctic Circle, Tromsø is blessed with midnight sun all through the summer, and has more polar Northern lights, “Aurora Borealis”, than anywhere else in the world. Being referred to as the entry-port to the Arctic, Tromsø still has a relatively mild climate, and lies a limited 3 hours flight away from London and Frankfurt, and less than 2 hours flight from the Norwegian capital, Oslo. This will give easy access to chess participants from all over the world.

For more information, please contact:

Henrik Andenæs, chairman, +4795143830, henrik.andenas@dht.no

Jøran Aulin Jansson, vice chairman, +4791332242, jj@sci-group.net

Børge Johan Robertsen, general manager, +4791647329, borge.robertsen@tromso2014.no



A bit more on our candidacy

A 100th ANNIVERSARY: The Norwegian Chess Federation, Norges Sjakkforbund, was founded on July 20th 1914, and its 2004 congress decided to nominate a committee to work on the 100th anniversary of the federation, in 2014.

AND A 200th ANNIVERSARY: The committee soon decided to recommend that a Chess Olympiad in our country would be the perfect manifestation of this big occasion, which by the way also coincides with the 200th anniversary of the Norwegian constitution itself.

NOT YET IN NORWAY: The Chess Olympiad has never been held in Norway and not in the Nordic countries either for a very long time since Stockholm 1937 and Helsinki 1952.

WISH, STRENGTH AND SUPPORT: For some time we worked on four Norwegian candidate sites for a 2014 Chess Olympiad. The northernmost candidate city of Tromsø however seemed to show both the strongest desire, strength and support for the whole idea, and was thus clearly selected to be our candidate.

THE CHESS CITY TROMSØ: For the last ten years chess players and enthusiasts of Tromsø have shown a strong ability to give a good chess offer to children and youth, and has become one of the leading Norwegian producers of new chess talents.

SUCCESSFUL TOURNAMENTS: Tromsø chess club has already earned a reputation as an experienced organizer of several successful national and international chess tournaments, and the city of Tromsø has in fact got two chess clubs which both compete on a very high level in Norway.

By Øystein Brekke, chairman of the anniversary committee 2004-2006.