And the winner is .... Tromso!

The big event on the second rest day was the decision on who would host the 2014 Chess Olympiad. There were 2 bidders, Albena in Bulgaria, and Tromso in Norway. Both bids had a number of positives, with Albena emphasising its charms as a tourist resort, while Tromso stressed its natural charm and government backing.

I wandered across just as Albena made its presentation (having missed the Tromso one) and then listened to a brief Q&A. Just as I was minding my own business, I was suddenly nominated to be one of the three election officials tasked with managing the vote. This involved myself reading out each of the countries eligible to vote, Alan Herbert(BAR) handing out the voting papers, and Carol Jarecki(BVI) supervising the voting booth. When each of the 142 votes had been made we retired to the counting room, accompanied by one observer from each of the bid.

Making sure such elections are on the up and up, is quite an involved process. Each voter signs when they take a ballot paper (to verify their credentials), and each ballot paper is signed by an election official (to prevent forgeries). Then we check that the number of ballots collected match the number of ballots anded out, before we even begin the count.

When the count began both bids were neck and neck for a while, until Tromso began to extend its lead. When they reached the 72 mark, the Bulgarian observer congratulated his Tromso counterpart, although we kept counting to the end. The a final check to see if the votes counted added up to the votes cast, and the final announcement was made. Tromso 95 Albena 47

In the end both bids were quite exciting and while I am looking forward to Tromso in 2014 I hope that Albena returns in 2 years time to bid for 2016.