India, Ukraine, Germany and Hungary remain in contention after a dramatic penultimate round
The medal race has been dramatically reshaped going into the final round. Uzbekistan strengthened its position with a commanding 3.5–0.5 victory over Armenia, while India matched that score against Uzbekistan 2 but remains a full match point behind the hosts.
In the Women’s section, Mongolia’s medal hopes suffered a major blow after a 3–1 defeat to Poland, while Vietnam continued their impressive late surge with a fourth consecutive match win, edging Indonesia 2.5–1.5 to keep an outside medal chance alive.
Full results 46th Chess Olympiad
Let’s take a closer look at the action from the playing hall.
Ceremonial moves mark a historic day in Samarkand
At the start of the round, Principal Arbiter Ivan Syrovy announced that Timur Turlov had just won the FIDE presidential elections, celebrated at the nearby Congress Center, becoming the eighth FIDE President. In the second round of voting, Turlov received 110 votes against 85 for his opponent, Wadim Rosenstein.
Following the announcement, Syrovy gave way to the ceremonial moves. Shaikh Khaled Al Qasimi, President of the Arab Chess Federation and Chairman of the Sharjah Sports Council, opened the game with 1.e4 for Armenia’s first board, Haik Martirosyan.
Hussein Abdullah Al-Khoury, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Chess Club and Tournament Director of the 47th FIDE Chess Olympiad in the UAE, replied with the solid 1…c6 for Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who subsequently changed his move and opted for the surprising Scandinavian Defence instead.
The action then moved a few boards towards the women’s section, where Khakimov Akbar, Director of the “Afruza” Chess Club, played 1.e4 for Afruza Khamdamova in the Uzbekistan–Peru match.
Open section
Uzbekistan takes control in key Armenia match
Javokhir Sindarov won the first game of the key match between Uzbekistan and Armenia, defeating Robert Hovhannisyan with a very nice piece of home preparation that featured an exchange sacrifice.
Immediately afterwards, his second during the Candidates, Mukhiddin Madaminov, brought home Uzbekistan’s second win against Gabriel Sargissian on board four, again displaying some astonishing tactical play.
After the game, Sindarov gave an interview sharing his thoughts on the match and was joined towards the end by Madaminov.
A final victory by Nodirbek Abdusattorov in a long ending on board one completed an outstanding 3.5–0.5 victory for Uzbekistan, putting the hosts in prime position to fight for gold tomorrow. Abdusattorov is playing the best chess of his life so far: undefeated and on an impressive 8/10.
India keeps the pressure on Uzbekistan
The second important match of the round brought India up against Uzbekistan 2, the revelation team of the event. A big favourite on paper, India showed that they remain serious contenders right up until the final game of the tournament.
Nihal Sarin opened the scoring for India on board three, defeating Mukhammadzokhid Suyarov with the black pieces. Sarin accepted two sacrificed pawns from his opponent before doubling down on the defense and eventually reeling in the full point.
After a solid draw on board two, World Champion Gukesh D prevailed in a tactical ending against Ortik Nigmatov on board four, securing the match victory for India. Praggnanandhaa then added another win on board one to complete the 3.5–0.5 scoreline.
The result leaves Uzbekistan one full match point ahead of India going into the final round, with a substantial 30-point advantage on the tiebreak.
Ukraine shock China to keep medal hope alive
China came into the round in a unique position in the medal race. All they needed was to avoid defeat against 12th seeds Ukraine, a team that had fought its way back into contention by winning its last three matches. But it was not to be.
Igor Kovalenko scored an important point on board one by defeating former World Champion Ding Liren, who unexpectedly dropped an exchange after a long period of manoeuvring.
Position of the day
Igor Kovalenko – Ding Liren
The two players had been shuffling their pieces for around 20 moves, each waiting for a positional improvement or a mistake from the opponent. White emerged slightly better: Black has more weaknesses, while his bishop pair is hardly active.
Instead of natural 44…Rd8 or 44…Qd7, keeping the ball rolling, Ding Liren blundered with 44…Re6? which failed to 45.Ne3! The queen is attacked, and Black cannot avoid losing the exchange. Following 45…Qf7 46.Ng5 White forked the queen and rook. It was the kind of mistake one simply does not expect from a player of Ding Liren’s strength, but it also demonstrated once again that even the very best players can go wrong at any moment.
With boards two and three ending in draws, Ukraine sealed the match with a second victory on board four, where current European Champion and teenage star Roman Dehtiarov defeated Xiangrui Kong. Ukraine now has a real opportunity to fight for a medal if they can produce another victory in the final round.
Germany and Hungary stay in medal race
Germany will also have a chance to fight for a medal in the final round after a convincing 3–1 victory over France. Hungary matched that score against Spain, keeping both teams firmly in contention heading into the decisive final round.
Women’s Section
China keeps the lead with a tie against India
In the match of the day, China and India traded wins on the two lower boards, with Vantika Agrawal suffering her first loss against Lu Miaoyi, undefeated on an impressive 8.5/10. Meanwhile, Savitha Shri raised her remarkable score to 8.5/9 by defeating Zhai Mo.
Kazakhstan just one point behind
The result allowed China to retain the lead, but their advantage over Kazakhstan was reduced to just one match point. Kazakhstan defeated France 2.5–1.5 in an unbelievable finish.
Position of the day
Pauline Guichard – Elnaz Kaliakhmet
Pauline Guichard had enjoyed a decisive advantage from the opening and was finally very close to converting it. Elnaz Kaliakhmet had just blocked a check and would have been happy to see the rooks traded off, as the resulting bishop-and-pawn ending would be a theoretical draw.
Any rook move, such as 89.Rf4 or 89.Rf1, would have been a technical win according to the computer. However, Guichard blundered with 89.Kb4??, dropping a full rook. Even being a rook down, the position might still have been drawn with perfect play, but Guichard blundered again a few moves later, allowing Kazakhstan to win the match.
Poland, USA and Vietnam still with a chance
Mongolia’s medal hopes suffered a major setback today after a 3–1 defeat to Poland, with Aleksandra Maltsevskaya and Alicja Sliwicka both winning with the White pieces on boards two and four.
Vietnam has also moved into the upper reaches of the standings after winning their last four matches. This afternoon, they edged out Indonesia 2.5–1.5 and could still have an outside chance of a medal with another victory tomorrow.
Finally, the USA recovered some ground with a convincing 4–0 victory over Israel, although their late surge leaves them with little room for error if they are to remain in medal contention going into the final round.
Medals and norms
Along with the team medals and achievements, the Olympiad is a very good tournament to obtain individual board medals, title norms, and even direct titles. The lists are provisional, subject to the rulings of each title, and will be updated daily.
One key milestone has already been achieved, with 11-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan of England securing her third and final WGM norm. In doing so, she became the youngest-ever player to fulfill the requirements for the Woman Grandmaster title. Bodhana is also Britain’s youngest-ever women’s chess champion.
Direct FIDE Master (FM) titles
Direct Women FIDE Master (WFM) titles
Direct Candidate Master (CM) titles
Direct Women Candidate Master (WCM) titles
Individual board medals (open)
Individual board medals (women)
Venue tour with Charlize van Zyl
Written by IM Michael Rahal (FIDE Press Officer)
Photos: Michal Walusza, Rafal Oleksiewicz
Official website: https://chessolympiad2026.fide.com/