Uzbekistan win 2026 Chess Olympiad

The 46th FIDE Chess 2026 has come to an exciting end with the host team winning in the Open category on their home soil and China taking gold in the women’s category.

The event brought together hundreds of chess players and 400 nations from  all over the world for one of the biggest international chess events which happened from 15th - 27th September 2026 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan featuring open and women’s categories

The hosts wins

The winning team has presented brilliant performances throughout the competition and entered the final stages as one of the leading teams.

The defending chess champions defeated Armenia with 3.5-0.5 in the penultimate round giving the team an important advantage before the final round. The important roles were played by Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Javokhir Sindarov and Mukhiddin Madaminov according to the FIDE report.

Strong Performances by Uzbek Chess Players

During the campaign Uzbek players defeated several top opponents out of which one of the strongest victories came in 6th round when the host team defeated 2024 double gold winning team (India) 2.5-1.5. Nodirbek Yakubboev scored the deciding win against Nihal Sarin and the victory helped them take the lead in the open section. They also defeated the US in Round 9 and moved back to 1st place.

India takes 2nd Place

The Indian team also played really well and fought till the very final round and finished the tournament with Silver medal in the open category.

The Indian team included some of the youngest chess players including world champion D.Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa.

Young Players leave their mark in Samarkand, Uzbekistan

This competition majorly highlighted the strength of young players of this era. Many young players competed against the world’s best players on a global stage and their performances showed the growing chess talent of young players.

For Students these events are an opportunity to watch high level games and learn from the grandmasters, their strategies and get inspired.

A Historic Chess Olympiad

Overall this event has its own significance in the global chess community as it featured a record breaking 400 confirmed teams across women and open categories which makes it even larger than previous competition at Budapest which has 380- teams.

Final Results

Open Section

Gold: Uzbekistan

Silver: India

Bronze: Germany

Women’s Section

Gold: China

Silver: Kazakhstan

Bronze: India

For particularly Uzbekistan this victory is really special as it came on home soil and for China women’s title showcased the growing strength of women of this generation.

The country has invested heavily in developing young chess talent, and its recent generation of grandmasters has established Uzbekistan as an important force in international chess. 

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