Over 2,000 players will compete in the 42nd Chess Olympiad, which kicked off here on Thursday at the National Gymnastics Arena.

The event, which is slated from Sept. 1-14, feature 181 male and 142 female teams from 176 countries in Open and Women sections.

The total number of participants is 2,245. The Chief Arbiter of the event will be Azerbaijan's International Arbiter Faig Hasanov.

Seven countries, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Kosovo, Liberia and South Sudan, will all enter the tournament for the first time.

The strongest team of the tournament is Russia with an average rating of 2,760. United States are the second strongest team with 2,761. China is the third team with highest average rating and the only team besides Russia whose all players have rating higher than 2,700.

The top seed in the women's section is China with an average rating of 2,528. The team is led by the Women's World Champion Hou Yifan on board one along with Zhao Xue, Ju Wenjun, Tan Zhongyi and Guo Qi. The reigning champions Russia have the second highest average rating of 2,504, and Ukraine on third (2,503).

The host country Azerbaijan is represented by three teams in each section.

Both sections will be completed over 11 rounds of Swiss system. Teams will be ranked according to the match points won in every round.

During the days of the tournament, Baku will also host multiple side events such as the operation of chess buses, 3D street art on chess topics, display of painted chess pieces, Chess Queen street performances, chess photography exhibitions, and parallel chess tournaments.

Source : XINHUA