Bhutan Chess Federation

Suk Raj makes history at the 45th Chess Olympiad, at Budapest, Hungary Dear Chess enthusiast, I am happy to share our first good news from the 45th Chess Olympiad after the 2nd round out of the 11 rounds that will be played this Olympiad. Mr. Suk Raj becomes the first player in the history of Bhutan chess to defeat a 2000+ FIDE rated player in a official chess tournament. This a big brekthrough moment for Bhutan Chess. Now our players know they can beat Master level players. In the FIDE rating system you need to have at least 2000 rating to get a Master title. This rare acheivement has elludade all Bhutanese chess players till date. Mr. Suk Raj played a brillant game getting the advantage from the opening and then holding on till the end to find the win against Mr. Monnaatsheko K, the 2064 FIDE rated player from Botswana. FIDE President Mr. Arkady Opening the chess Exhibition at the Olympiad. The Bhutan Open team lost 3 v 1 to Botswana and the Women team lost 4 v 0 to Chinese Taipei. A...

                                                                   The Bhutan Open team before the 1st round. Left to right Lhundrup, Suk Raj, Mahendra, and Bhakta    Dear chess enthusiast's, I am writing a short note,  to update all the chess enthusiast about the progress of the Team Bhutan at the 45th Chess Olympiad, at Budapest, Hungary. After a long and tiring flight via India and Poland to get to Budapest, Hungary, the team arrived tired but excited to explore and meet the challenges of the 45th Chess Olympiad. The players are in a positive mindset and met the 1st round challenge against Albania (Open) and Indonesia (Women), with a quiet and determined resilience.  The players of Team Bhutan Open and Women Team. In a Swiss System tournament it always starts with weaker teams playing against stro...

Why chess tournaments are ‘only’ held in Thimphu. Over the last few years, as the Bhutan Chess Federation (BCF) has become more active, we have frequently heard the question, "Why are chess tournaments only held in Thimphu?" There are several practical reasons why all the tournaments have been concentrated in Thimphu and not in other towns across Bhutan.   The main reasons are as follows: 1. Location of the BCF Office: The BCF office, along with our staff and volunteers, is based in Thimphu. This makes organizing events here more convenient and cost-effective. 2. Logistical Costs: Organizing a tournament outside Thimphu, such as in Bumthang, would require additional expenses, including travel and accommodation for our team. These costs significantly increase the overall expense of hosting events. 3. Limited Funding from the Bhutan Olympic Committee (BOC): In the past two years, the BCF has received only Nu 30,000 and Nu 60,000, which is barely sufficient to cover our ba...

  Who is BCF? The above question is simple yet interesting questions, which need to be answered, so that all the chess enthusiast are aware of how the body that promotes chess in Bhutan operates. So who is the Bhutan Chess Federation (BCF)? The BCF is the official body which promotes chess in Bhutan, and has been recognized by the Bhutan Olympic Committee (BOC) in Bhutan and also by FIDE at the international level. So how did this happen? We are not too sure but it seems that sometime in 2013 or so FIDE recognized BCF, we are told that BOC helped the then officials of BCF to register with FIDE, the BCF went dormant approximately in 2015 as there seems to have been some problems which we are not aware of.  In 2021 Mr Ugen Wangchuck initiated the revival of the BCF with the help of BOC, and all the outstanding payments to FIDE for the membership of BCF was cleared by BOC, and BCF was re-recognized by FIDE. From 2021 to 2023 Mr Ugen Wangchuck managed the BCF with the help of a fe...

  A Century of Chess The Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE), is one of the most prestigious events in the chess world. Over the last century, it has grown from a modest tournament into a global competition featuring the best chess talent from around the world. This article traces the history of the Chess Olympiad and highlights some of the most important moments in its 100-year journey. Origins and Early Years (1920s-1930s) The concept of an international chess team competition was first realized at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, where an unofficial chess tournament was held. This event, however, was not organized by FIDE, which had just been founded in the same year. The tournament was not recognized as an official Olympic event, and therefore it did not have the status of what we now know as the Chess Olympiad. Nonetheless, it laid the groundwork for future competitions. The first official Chess Olympiad was held in London in 1927. Th...

After nine months of training and 5 tournaments the BCF has selected the Open and Women's team to represent Bhutan at the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary. The pre selected players where trained by IM Atanu Lahiri. The selection of the players was based on the following three criteria which was announced at the start of the training program with Mr. Atanu. 1. Attendance of the training program 2. IM Atanu Lahiri's assessment of the player. 3. The average result from the tournament (5 tournaments) will be used as the selection criteria. The BCF would like to wish Tashi Delek to all the selected players and we look forward to seeing great results from the 45th Chess Olympiad. The official notification issued by the BCF confirming the selected players