The 31st Chess Olympiad (Russian: 31-я Шахматная олимпиада, 31-ya Shakhmatnaya olimpiada), organized by FIDE and comprising an open[1] and a women's tournament, took place between November 30 and December 17, 1994, in Moscow, Russia. Both tournament sections were officiated by international arbiter Yuri Averbakh of Russia.
The record number of nations once again counted some old faces playing under new flags. Yugoslavia was back, but now represented by the federation of Serbia-Montenegro. Another former Yugoslav republic, Macedonia, also made its debut, as did the Czech Republic and Slovakia who competed individually for the first time. Finally, the International Braille Chess Association entered two truly international teams.
The Russian team retained their title, captained by PCA world champion Kasparov. Due to a dispute with the national federation, FIDE champion Anatoly Karpov was not present. A strong performance from Bosnia-Herzegovina, led by Nikolić, earned them the silver, while the Russian "B" team of juniors, somewhat surprisingly, took the bronze—the first and only time that the same nation has occupied more than one medal rank.