Chess Olympiad 2026 opens in Samarkand with a 400-team field
FIDE lists 208 Open and 192 Women's teams in Samarkand from 15 to 27 September 2026. Round 1 is 16 September at 3pm (GMT+5).
Samarkand, 13 September 2026 · ChessWize Newsdesk
Published
In brief
- The 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad opens in Samarkand on 15 September 2026, with round 1 at 3pm (GMT+5) on 16 September. [s2]
- FIDE's 13 September 2026 report lists 208 Open teams and 192 Women's teams at the Samarkand Olympiad, 400 in all, above the 380 teams in Budapest in 2024. [s1]
- India's Open five for the Samarkand Olympiad on FIDE's 5 August 2026 lists are Arjun Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa R, Nihal Sarin, Gukesh Dommaraju and Vidit Gujrathi. [s3]
The 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad opens in Samarkand on 15 September 2026. Round 1 is 16 September at 3pm (GMT+5). FIDE's 13 September report lists 208 Open teams and 192 Women's teams, 400 in all.
208 Open teams and 192 Women's teams
That 400-team Samarkand Olympiad field is above the 380 teams in Budapest in 2024. The official Olympiad site dates the event 15 to 27 September 2026. The opening ceremony is set for 7:00pm on 15 September at the Boqiy Shahar Amphitheater. Round 11 and the closing ceremony fall on 27 September, with Round 11 at 11am (GMT+5).
India Open five on the August lists
FIDE's 13 September report says India arrive as the defending Open champions from Budapest. The 5 August 2026 team lists put the United States first in the Open and India second. India's five, with the Elo printed that day, are Arjun Erigaisi (2759), Praggnanandhaa R (2750), Nihal Sarin (2718), Gukesh Dommaraju (2703) and Vidit Gujrathi (2697). Srinath Narayanan is captain.
India is the Women's top seed on those lists, and the defending Women's champions. Humpy Koneru (2524) leads Divya Deshmukh (2490), Vaishali Rameshbabu (2489), Vantika Agrawal and Savitha Shri B. Swayams Mishra is captain.
“We won the last Olympiad, so looking forward to defending it.”
Praggnanandhaa, speaking to FIDE [s3]
Round 1 starts 16 September
Captains meet at 3 PM on 15 September in the Tashkent Ball room of the Hilton Samarkand Regency. On 13 September in India, Viswanathan Anand and AICF president Nitin Narang handed the Olympiad torch to Javokhir Sindarov. Round 1 of the Samarkand Olympiad is 16 September at 3pm (GMT+5), the day after that captains' meeting.
- 15 September, 7:00pmSamarkand Olympiad opening[s2]
- 16 September, 3pm (GMT+5)Samarkand Olympiad Round 1[s2]
- 17 to 21 SeptemberSamarkand Olympiad rounds 2-6[s2]
- 22 SeptemberSamarkand Olympiad rest day[s2]
- 23 to 26 SeptemberSamarkand Olympiad rounds 7-10[s2]
- 27 September, 11am (GMT+5)Samarkand Olympiad Round 11[s2]
| Seed | Federation |
|---|---|
| 1 | United States |
| 2 | India |
| 3 | Uzbekistan |
| 4 | China |
| 5 | Germany |
| Board | Player | Elo |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arjun Erigaisi | 2759 |
| 2 | Praggnanandhaa R | 2750 |
| 3 | Nihal Sarin | 2718 |
| 4 | Gukesh Dommaraju | 2703 |
| 5 | Vidit Gujrathi | 2697 |
Sources
- [s1] Samarkand ready for a record-breaking Chess Olympiad · FIDE · accessed 15 Sept 2026 Primary
- [s2] 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad, September 15-27, 2026 · FIDE Olympiad · accessed 15 Sept 2026 Primary
- [s3] Team line-ups confirmed for 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad · FIDE · accessed 15 Sept 2026 Primary
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