The Indian team won the silver in the Open section of the chess Olympiad in Samarkand.
| Photo Credit: FIDE
The men won the silver, and the women the bronze. India, the defending champion in both the open and women’s sections, could not repeat the stunning twin success of 2024, but at least finished with team medals at the Chess Olympiad.
In the open section, host Uzbekistan emerged as the champion, while China came up with a dominant show to win the women’s title despite not fielding some of its best players. On the final day, the Indian men drew with Hungary 2-2, while the women shared the honours with Georgia (2-2).
The Indian men finished with 18 points, two less than the host, which defeated Ukraine 2.5-1.5. Germany, which surprised many, won the bronze after its 2.5-1.5 win over the Netherlands.
Arjun Erigaisi’s win over Peter Leko on the second board proved crucial, as D. Gukesh was beaten by Gleb Dudin. R. Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin drew their games.
For the Indian women, Koneru Humpy scored a significant win on the top board against Nana Dzagnidge. Though Divya Deshmukh lost on the second board, to Bela Khotenashvili, Vantika Agrawal and the magnificent B. Savitha Shri both drew their games to ensure India would end up on the podium, after all.
India also retained the Gaprindashvili Trophy, given to the team with the best overall score. India is the only country to win a medal in both open and women’s sections.
India also won a slew of board medals. Savitha struck gold on the reserve board in the women’s section, in which Divya won the silver on the second board. Humpy and Vantika won bronze on the top board and fourth board respectively. In the open section, Gukesh won silver on the fourth board, while Praggnanandhaa claimed the bronze on the top board.
Important results (final round): Open: India drew with Hungary 2-2 (R. Praggnanandhaa drew with Richard Rapport; Arjun Erigaisi bt Peter Leko; Nihal Sarin drew with Benjamin Gledura; D. Gukesh lost to Gleb Dudin).
Uzbekistan bt Ukraine 2.5-1.5; Germany bt Netherlands 2.5-1.5; USA bt Turkiye 3-1; Serbia bt Azerbaijan 2.5-1.5; Armenia bt Croatia 3-1; China bt Uzbekistan (2) 3-1; France bt Denmark 3.5-0.5; England bt Italy 2.5-1.5; Spain bt Georgia 3-1.
The standings: 1. Uzbekistan 20; 2-3. India and Germany 18; 4-7. USA, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Hungary 17; 8-10. China, France and Spain 16.
Women: India drew with Georgia 2-2 (Koneru Humpy bt Nana Dzagnidge; Divya Deshmukh lost to Bela Khotenashvili; Vantika Agrawal drew with Lela Javakhishvili; B. Savitha Shri drew with Meri Arabidze).
Armenia bt Uzbekistan 3-1; China bt Vietnam 3-1; Kazakhstan drew with Poland 2-2; USA bt Romania 3-1; Mongolia bt Greece 2.5-1.5; France drew with Slovenia 2-2; Bulgaria drew with Latvia 2-2; Indonesia drew with Spain 2-2; Turkiye bt Sri Lanka 3-1.
The standings: 1. China 20; 2. Kazakhstan 18; 3-7. India, USA, Poland, Armenia and Mongolia 17; 8-10. Georgia, Vietnam and Slovenia 16.
Published – September 27, 2026 08:20 pm IST
