The national flags at the paying hall
Hello everyone and welcome to the traditional countdown to the Chess Olympiad on Chessdom.com! Today we move from minute to minute reports, to reporting directly from the scene for you. This is the first photo report, with pictures from Istanbul, the playing hall, and the atmosphere 2 days before the start of the Olympiad.
Review: 7 days to the Chess Olympiad / 6 days to the Chess Olympiad / 5 days to Chess Olympiad 2012 / 4 days to Chess Olympiad 2012 / 3 days to Chess Olympiad 2012
Chess Olympiad news / Participants men / Participants women / Chess Olympiad 2012 video preview / Live games
The playing hall of the 2012 Chess Olympiad is ready. During the Chessdom visit today, the sound system was getting a final check and the banners and posters were being installed on the walls.
The games will take place in a spacious hall with comfortable space between tables and a spectators zone. Flags of all the 162 participating countries (Olympiad record, see more here) are dominating the ceiling landscape. There is a scoreboard next to each table, and plasma screens for the audience.
Right outside the playing hall is a foyer with coffee bar for everyone that has inside and outside part.
See the full plans of the playing hall with details at this earlier Olympiad 2012 update
The way from the airport to the hotels, sunny Istanbul greets all coming participants
The marina close to the hotel with many VIP boats and great coffee houses (view from one balcony of the hotel)
The entrance of the playing hall
With a spiderman style roof on top
The general arrangement of the Open section
The flags dominating the ceiling landscape
Another part of the playing hall
A greeting by the Prime Minister Recep Erdogan is meeting the players
and another greeting, this time by the Minister of Youth ans Sports. Both posters showing the momentum chess has gained in Turkey in the past years
The scoreboards, on which the current results will be displayed
The future favorite place of the players, the coffee bar
The outside part of the coffee bar with people enjoying the beautiful weather in Istanbul
View from the terrace of the playing hall
Among the coverage team are the Chess TV journalists, who will be making the live video just like during the WCC match Anand - Gelfand
The press team of the Chess Olympiad 2012
