The 10th Chess Olympiad (Finnish: 10. Shakkiolympialaiset; Swedish: Den 10:e Schackolympiad), organized by the FIDE and comprising an open[1] team tournament, as well as several other events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between August 9 and August 31, 1952, in Helsinki, Finland.
The Olympiad was especially notable for the debut of the Soviet team, who instantly won their first gold medals and went on to completely dominate the Olympiads for the next four decades.
After the tournament, it was generally agreed that the small preliminary and final groups of only 8–9 teams left too much open to chance, since a single blunder would have an impact too big on the final standings. Consequently, FIDE decided that in the future, no final should have less than 12 participants.
- ^ Although commonly referred to as the men's division, this section is open to both male and female players.