Vanuatu Chess Team to the Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary

The newly formed Vanuatu Chess Federation is thrilled to have the opportunity to send two teams to the World Olympiad held in Budapest, Hungary this September. The two teams are made up of six players each, twelve in total, one male team and one female team.

The Olympiad happens very two years and stands as the pinnacle celebration of the sport bringing together players from over 150 expected countries. It is of course a chance of a lifetime to travel, some for the first time , and represent Vanuatu on the world stage.

We are lucky enough to have the support of FIDE, the international chess body, that have generously helped subsidise the trip along with great local sponsors but we only month out and we are still short of our target. This is of course due to the high costs of flights and accommodation we will need along the way.

Our team consists of Vanautu’s most promising and dedicated players including students from Port Vila International School and French international school JMG LE CLÉZIO. It also has two members of Wan Smol Bag youth centre that caters for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The Vanuatu chess federation was formed in 2023 but has already done some great work including starting clubs in schools and holding tournaments twice a month at Aliance Française. We have run a very popular chess in prison program for the low risk detainees and taken chess sets to Luganville, Santo. We have also had success beating our pacific neighbour, New Caledonia, in a tournament when they came to visit earlier this year.

Please help us raise the funds we need to secure our flights and represent Vanuatu for the first time at the Chess Olympiad!

Thank you!

For more information go to https://chessolympiad2024.fide.com