The open division was contested by 126 teams representing 124 nations. Turkey, as hosts, fielded two teams, whilst the
International Braille Chess Association provided one squad.
Nicaragua,
Mauritania, and
Djibouti were signed up but never arrived. Once again, Russia had to do without their strongest players, the "Three Ks". Classical World Champion
Garry Kasparov and challenger
Vladimir Kramnik were in the midst of their
championship match, and ex-champion
Anatoly Karpov was still at odds with the national federation. Captained by the new
FIDE champion
Khalifman, however, Russia were still favourites, and the team did win their fifth consecutive title, although only by a single point. Germany took the silver medals, while Ukraine clinched the bronze, beating Hungary on tie-break. Pre-tournament medal favourites England, whose average rating was a mere 13 points below Russia's, finished a disappointing seventh. : :
Individual medals •
Performance rating:
Alexander Morozevich 2804 • Board 1:
Utut Adianto 7½ / 9 = 83.3% • Board 2:
Ruslan Ponomariov 8½ / 11 = 77.3% • Board 3:
Dragoljub Jacimović 7 / 9 = 77.8% • Board 4:
Ashot Anastasian 9 / 12 = 75.0% • 1st reserve:
Taleb Moussa 6 / 7 = 85.7% • 2nd reserve:
Alexei Barsov 5½ / 7 = 78.6% ==Women's event==