In the 21st century, which country has won more international chess Olympiads than any other? Russia? USA? China? None of the above — it’s Armenia, which won gold three times (2006, 2008 and 2012). Despite a population of just 3 million, the country has a healthy number of top flight grandmasters, and Levon Aronian (the current world no. 5, and former world no. 2) has been its pre-eminent player for many years. So Aronian’s announcement that he will switch federations, representing the USA in future events, is significant. He will relocate to St Louis, which has become a major chess centre in recent years, with the backing of the American philanthropist Rex Sinquefield. Aronian’s move bolsters an already exceptional US team, with Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Leinier Dominguez Perez and Hikaru Nakamura all in the world’s top 20.
It may seem odd that a player’s affiliation is not simply bound by citizenship, but it does make sense to permit such transfers.
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