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ChessVista.com is the website of chess photographer Frits Agterdenbos. The site provides the international chess community with high quality chess photos and chess news of chess players from international chess events. There will be visual reports and an album with chess photo collections showing all the visual aspects of the chess world.21.05.2006 The Opening Ceremony took place on Saturday 20 May at 09.00 p.m. in the Congress Centre just across the Olympic Oval. Most of the players attended the official festivity, during which FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and the president of the Italian Chess Federation, Gianpietro Pagnoncelli declared the Olympiad being opened. Musical accompaniment by Italian juniors The conductor at work Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and Gianpietro Paggnoncelli have declared the Olympiad being opened Bridge connecting the Olympic Village with the Olympic Oval The Ethiopian team At 11.00 p.m. the event was followed by the Captains’ Meeting in the Olympic Village. A remarkable decision was recalled. Chief Arbiter Geurt Gijssen explained that, according to a two months ago decision of the FIDE Presidential Board, the pairings would be scheduled according to the Accelerated Pairings System. This system is the idea of Almog Burstein, chief of the pairings committee during the Chess Olympiad, who introduced his meanings to the FIDE a while ago. In the usual pairings system in the first round, say there a 100 participating countries, the number 1 rated country plays number 51, 2 plays 52, 3 plays 53, etcetera. The disadvantage of this system is that it takes more rounds to divide the strong from the weak teams, while the best system getting the true winner, would provide many strong – strong encounters. The Accelerated Pairings System is meant to meet in the objections. The system is an adaption during the first two rounds. The group is subdivided in 4 groups 1-25, 26-50, 51-75, 76-100. In the first round 1 plays 26, 2 plays 27, …, 51 plays 76, 52 plays 77, etcetera. Then in round 2 pairings two extra board points are added to the best 50 countries, the pairings are made again according to the system 1 plays 26, 2 plays 27, …, 51 plays 76, 52 plays 77, etcetera. And of course the two extra board points are substracted after the pairing has been made. After that Geurt Gijssen had announced and explained the system, there was quite an uproar. Predrag Nikolic, who is captain of the Turkish team, disagreed with the system, arguing that the advantage of the old, usual, system is that weaker countries get a chance to play strong opponents in the first rounds, which is the charming element of the Olympiads. Herman Hamers, captain of the Dutch team, also objected to the new system saying that is was not communicated by the Presidential Board, so that nobody knew about it. It is not possible to come up with a new system only a few moments before the start of the first round (next day at 03.00 p.m. The non-communication of the decision was not contradicted. Geurt Gijssen asked the captains for their opinion in a kind of vote which was not really a vote. Campomanes, present at the meeting, was consulted. After deliberating with Boris Kutin and Morten Sand, Geurt Gijssen decided to recall the new system. Pairings will be done in the old usual way. Arthur Schuering and Herman Hamers, captain of the Dutch men team Boris Kutin, FIDE Vice President Morten Sand and Geurt Gijssen Chief arbiter Geurt Gijssen The morning after... pairings round 1, according to the usual pairing system