[imagefield_assist|fid=15406|preset=fullsize|lightbox=true|title=Irina Krush, Anna Zatonskih, Sabina Foisor, Rusudan Goletiani and Tatev Abrahamyan will lead the U.S. Women's Olympiad team into battle against the world's best women.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=700|height=261]
The 2012 U.S. Women's Chess Olympiad team will compete against the world's best women in Istanbul, Turkey, at the 40th World Chess Olympiad beginning on August 27. The U.S. Women's team is comprised of reigning U.S. Women's Champion IM Irina Krush, IM Anna Zatonskih, WGM Sabina Foisor, IM Rusudan Goletiani and WGM Tatev Abrahamyan.
Krush and Zatonskih, both four-time U.S. Women's Champions, will lead the U.S. into battle.
The World Chess Olympiad is a biennial event organized by FIDE, the World Chess Organization, that pits countries from all over the world against one another in a team competition. Teams of four compete against one another, all vying to earn a gold, silver or bronze medal for their respective countries. The 2012 World Chess Olympiad in Istanbul marks the 40th installment of this event, and 163 different countries will be competing.
The schedule of events is as follows (all times are local Istanbul time):
| 27 August 2012 | 9:30 p.m. | Opening Ceremony |
| 28 August 2012 | 3:00 p.m. | Round 1 |
| 29 August 2012 | 3:00 p.m. | Round 2 |
| 30 August 2012 | 3:00 p.m. | Round 3 |
| 31 August 2012 | 3:00 p.m. | Round 4 |
| 1 September 2012 | 3:00 p.m. | Round 5 |
| 2 September 2012 | REST DAY | |
| 3 September 2012 | 3:00 p.m. | Round 6 |
| 4 September 2012 | 3:00 p.m. | Round 7 |
| 5 September 2012 | 3:00 p.m. | Round 8 |
| 6 September 2012 | 3:00 p.m. | Round 8 |
| 7 September 2012 | 3:00 p.m. | Round 10 |
| 8 September 2012 | REST DAY | |
| 9 September 2012 | 1:00 p.m. | Round 11 |
