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Chess Olympiad 2026: Uzbekistan and China Take Gold
Results of the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand: Uzbekistan won the open section and China the women's, with India taking silver and bronze.
The 46th Chess Olympiad was held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from 15 to 27 September 2026 - the first Olympiad ever played in Central Asia. Over 200 teams in the open section and nearly 190 in the women's section played eleven rounds each. The host nation won the open section; China won the women's.
Open section: Uzbekistan win at home
Uzbekistan went into the last round one match point ahead of India and beat Ukraine 2½–1½ to take sole first place. India could only draw with Hungary 2–2, while Germany beat the Netherlands to tie India on points.
| Place | Team | Match points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uzbekistan | 20 |
| 2 | India | 18 |
| 3 | Germany | 18 |
| 4 | United States | 17 |
| 5 | Azerbaijan | 17 |
India took silver ahead of Germany on tiebreak.
The winning team was Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Javokhir Sindarov, Nodirbek Yakubboev, Shamsiddin Vokhidov and Mukhiddin Madaminov - most of the same young squad that won Uzbekistan's first Olympiad title in Chennai in 2022.
Abdusattorov was the star of the event: 8½/11 on top board, with the highest performance rating of anyone in the Olympiad (2869), and the board-one gold medal. For Sindarov, gold came two months before he challenges Gukesh for the world title (match guide).
Other individual golds in the open section went to Wei Yi (China, board 2), Frederik Svane (Germany, board 3) and Ihor Samunenkov (Ukraine, board 4). World champion Gukesh took silver on board 4 for India, and Praggnanandhaa bronze on board 1.
Women's section: China's seventh title
China beat Vietnam 3–1 in the final round to finish on 20 match points and win the women's Olympiad for the seventh time - and the first time since 2018.
| Place | Team | Match points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 20 |
| 2 | Kazakhstan | 18 |
| 3 | India | 17 |
India took bronze on tiebreak ahead of four other teams that also finished on 17.
China's Zhu Jiner had the best performance in the women's event (2638), winning seven of her nine games on top board. India's Savitha Shri Baskar scored 9/10 as the reserve and took gold on board 5. Divya Deshmukh (silver, board 3) and Humpy Koneru (bronze, board 1) also won individual medals for India.
Off the board: a new FIDE president
During the Olympiad, the FIDE General Assembly elected Timur Turlov, president of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, as the new president of FIDE, chess's world governing body, replacing Arkady Dvorkovich. Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand ran on his ticket.
Who did not play
Magnus Carlsen did not play for Norway. Russia remained banned from FIDE team events.
What is next
The next big event is the world championship match between Gukesh and Sindarov in Geneva, starting on 24 November.
Olympiad games are full of sharp tactics - the kind you can train every day. Try the puzzle feed or the tactics puzzles.
Sources: European Chess Union, Wikipedia: 46th Chess Olympiad.