Uzbekistan wins home gold at record-breaking Chess Olympiad in Samarkand

Uzbekistan celebrates second Chess Olympiad triumph on home soil

Usagevpn.com – Samarkand became the centre of the chess world as Uzbekistan secured the Open title at the largest Chess Olympiad ever staged, defeating Ukraine in the final round to claim gold before its home supporters.

Nearly 400 national teams gathered in the Uzbek city for the competition, which ran for almost two weeks and brought hundreds of simultaneous games into one hall. The hosts completed a remarkable campaign with 20 match points from a possible 22, winning 10 of their 11 encounters.

The victory gives Uzbekistan its second Olympiad crown in four years. The team first won in Chennai, India, in 2022, then earned bronze in Budapest two years later. This time, competing at home added another dimension to the achievement.

“This is our second Olympiad victory. Winning it at home feels different,” Uzbek grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov said. “I think we played the tournament at the highest level.”

A demanding route to the gold medal

Uzbekistan’s path to first place included wins over some of the strongest teams in international chess. The hosts beat defending champions India, China and top-seeded United States, while their sole defeat came against Germany, which eventually collected bronze.

The Olympiad uses a team format that makes every individual board matter. Four players represent each country in a head-to-head match, playing at the same time against four opponents from another national side. Their separate results are added together to establish the match outcome. Over 11 rounds, teams face a changing sequence of rivals, requiring depth across every board as well as consistency from leading players.

Nodirbek Abdusattorov played a particularly important role in Uzbekistan’s success. On first board, he was generally matched against the highest-rated player from each opposing lineup. He went through the event without losing a game and received an individual gold medal for his performance.

“I think we can now confidently say that Uzbekistan is unrivalled in the world of chess,” Abdusattorov said after the victory.

India finished second in the Open competition, with Germany taking third. Germany’s medal carried special significance: it was the country’s first Open-team Olympiad medal since its silver in Istanbul in 2000.

“I think it’s by far the best Olympiad we’ve had in recent years, at least as long as I’ve been playing,” German grandmaster Vincent Keymer said.

Several other European teams also made strong impressions in the final standings. Hungary, France and Spain each reached the top 10, joined by Azerbaijan and Armenia. Their presence underlined the breadth of competition in an event where established powers and rapidly rising chess nations all competed across the same demanding schedule.

China takes women’s title

China won the gold medal in the women’s competition, while Kazakhstan claimed silver and India completed the podium with bronze. The women’s event featured 189 teams, alongside 205 in the Open section, producing a record-scale gathering for FIDE’s leading national-team tournament.

Indian grandmaster Koneru Humpy was part of the bronze-medal-winning side and highlighted the Olympiad’s broad appeal beyond the players seated at the boards.

“There is a lot of attention from all the spectators and followers, and this is one of the widely followed tournaments from all over the world,” Humpy said.

The size of the field reflected chess’s unusual ability to combine elite competition with national representation. Unlike an individual championship, the Olympiad gives players the opportunity to compete under their country’s flag, while team captains must balance board order, preparation and the pressure of each round’s changing match situation.

Sindarov’s world-title challenge approaches

For Sindarov, the home triumph is not the only major landmark on the calendar. After winning the Candidates Tournament, he will face India’s Gukesh Dommaraju for the world championship in Geneva from 22 November to 12 December.

Both competitors will be 20 years old when the match begins, making it the youngest World Championship contest in chess history. The meeting will place two representatives of a new generation at the sport’s highest-profile individual event, shortly after Uzbekistan’s team success in Samarkand.

A new FIDE president and the next host city

The Olympiad also brought a leadership change for international chess. During FIDE’s General Assembly in Samarkand, Timur Turlov, then president of the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, was elected president of the International Chess Federation. At 38, he became the youngest person ever chosen for the role.

“The interest in the game is definitely rising year over year,” Turlov said. “It’s not just a professional sport. It’s a sport which is getting more and more popular almost everywhere.”

When play concluded, the Olympiad flag passed to representatives of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi is set to stage the 47th Chess Olympiad in 2028, taking over from a tournament in Samarkand that combined record participation, a home champion and a pivotal moment for the game’s international leadership.