2026 Samarkand Olympiad Rounds 10–11: Uzbekistan, China Win Open, Women’s

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Overview (Open)

Uzbekistan continued its stellar form going into the final two rounds of the 2026 Samarkand Olympiad, winning the tournament on 20/22 match points, with a 3.5-0.5 win against Armenia in round 10 and a tight 2.5-1.5 win against Ukraine in round 11. India takes home the silver after defeating Uzbekistan 2, the 2nd Uzbek team, 3.5-0.5 in round 10 and narrowly achieving a draw against Hungary in round 11. In third place, Germany won against France 3-1 in round 10, while barely getting through the Netherlands with a 2.5-1.5 score.

Final Standings

Top Boards

Round 10: Uzbekistan Maintains One-Point Lead

Uzbekistan vs. Armenia, 3.5-0.5

At some point, matters looked promising for team Armenia. For a brief moment, GM Haik M. Martirosyan found his way to a slight advantage against GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov after the Uzbek number one failed to find an accurate continuation in his chosen Scandinavian Defense, which would have left White with barely any hopes of surviving the game. Similarly, GM Javokhir Sindarov, who looked to be on his way to winning a dominant game, blundered with 28. a5?, allowing GM Robert Hovhannisyan a chance to get back into the game. As it stood, however, the Uzbeks were in stellar form, and it would take more than a couple of small inaccuracies to take down the juggernauts. Martirosyan eventually lost an opposite-colored bishop endgame where Abdusattorov played with incredible precision.

On board 2, Hovhannisyan failed to find 28...Rb5, playing 28...Qd5 instead and losing in short order.

To round off the match, after GM Shant Sargsyan failed to capitalize on his large edge against GM Nodirbek Yakubboev, GM Mukhiddin Madaminov was there to gift Uzbekistan its third victory, defeating GM Gabriel Sargissian in an abrupt attacking storm.

India vs. Uzbekistan 2, 3.5-0.5

India's dominant win against the ascending Uzbekistan 2 team could have been even more one-sided had GM Arjun Erigaisi found the winning continuation against GM Abdimalik Abdisalimov; he did not, however, and soon liquidation and an equal endgame was on the board. On board 3, though, GM Nihal Sarin was there to immediately boost India's morale, profiting from GM Mukhammadzokhid Suyarov's endgame blunder with precise knight jumps and rook swings.

Meanwhile, GM R Praggnanandhaa had survived a somewhat precarious position against GM Jakhongir Vakhidov, gradually exploiting the holes left behind White's previously well-placed aggressive pawn formation.

On board 3, world champion GM Gukesh D saw his advantage dissipate, but it was of no concern to Gukesh as he found a way to win, again, against GM Ortik Nigmatov.

Ukraine vs. China, 3-1

Ukraine was effectively off to an early lead against China, but only potentially, as GM Igor Kovalenko had an early and sizeable advantage against GM Ding Liren in the Delayed Exchange Ruy Lopez. With masterful piece maneuvers, Kovalenko converted his advantage against the former world champion, but there was still a lot of play left on the other boards, offering China chances to mount a comeback.

Indeed, GM Kong Xiangrui had been playing well in the Giuoco Pianissimo, obtaining an edge against GM Roman Dehtiarov. As is often the case, though, chess is a game of one mistake, and after the traic 25. Nc4??, Kong blundered the game away, with no hope of getting back in the game.

With board 2 seeing GM Wei Yi and GM Vasyl Ivanchuk failing to get more out of their brief and minute advantages, and with GM Ihor Samunenkov also not applying more pressure against GM Xu Xiangyu, Ukraine won, keeping their chances of a podium finish alive and ending China's hopes of the same.

Other Leaders & Results

• Germany defeated France 3-1, with the Svane brothers once again playing a key role in match victory (games 3 and 4).
• Hungary won 3-1 against Spain in a match which saw four decisive games (games 1, 2, 3, and 4).
• The USA also won 3-1 against Greece, with key victories from GM Levon Aronian and GM Awonder Liang (games 3 and 4).
• The Netherlands scraped by Romania with a 2.5-1.5 scoreline, thanks to a key win on board 2 by GM Jorden van Foreest.
• In another match which saw three draws and one win, Azerbaijan won against Bulgaria 2.5-1.5, with a crucial victory by GM Mahammad Muradli on board 3.
• Türkiye dominated Argentina 3.5-0.5 (boards 1, 2, and 4).

Our director of operations, Theo Wait, interviewed GM Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş after his win against GM Faustino Oro.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE8318YW97Y

Leaderboard After Round 10

Round 11: Uzbekistan Wins Two Points Ahead, India Silver, Germany Bronze

Uzbekistan vs. Ukraine, 2.5-1.5

Uzbekistan came in to the last round with one clear goal in mind: avoid tiebreaks. For that, a match win would be sufficient, and GM Mukhiddin Madaminov was ready to bring home the gold, defeating GM Roman Dehtiarov after a somewhat brief back-and-forth, with Dehtiarov missing some chances to save the game.

Thankfully for GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Madaminov's win meant that he would not have to feel too much team guilt over his inability to convert a winning endgame against GM Igor Kovalenko. Meanwhile, GM Javokhir Sindarov saved a worse position against GM Vasyl Ivanchuk, while GM Nodirbek Yakubboev played a staid draw against GM Ihor Samunenkov.

India vs. Hungary, 2-2

India against Hungary looked to be a drawn match early on, but in terms of decisive results and not drawn games. Indeed, after less than two hours of play, it became clear that GM Arjun Erigaisi and GM Gleb Dudin would convert their advantages against GM Péter Lékó and GM Gukesh D, respectively. Thus, the battle for team victory was raging on the other two boards. Team India seemed to be in bad shape as by that point, GM Nihal Sarin's advantage against GM Benjámin Gledura had already disappeared, and GM R Praggnanandhaa was at many points significantly worse off against GM Richárd Rapport in the endgame. In the end, though, both boards 1 and 3 drew, tying the match after Erigaisi's attacking crush against Lékó and Dudin's impressive one-sided game against world champion Gukesh.

Germany vs. The Netherlands, 2.5-1.5

Netherland's loss against Germany was doubly heart-breaking, not only in terms of the team result, but also because it meant that GM Jorden van Foreest, who has been having an incredible tournament up to that point, would miss out on gold on board 2. When it came to his game against GM Matthias Blübaum, though, there was nothing to write home about as he blundered an exchange and was given no opportunities to recover by Blübaum.

On board 1, GM Vincent Keymer could have extended Germany's lead further. As it stood, however, he could not convert against GM Anish Giri, blundering away his advantage in time pressure. Meanwhile, GM Loek van Wely could have corrected the course for the Netherlands, missing out on a passing chance to get an advantage against GM Frederik Svane. As for board 4, GM Rasmus Svane and GM Casper Schoppen played a rather quiet draw.

Other Leaders & Results

• The USA won 3-1 against Türkiye, with GM Hans Moke Niemann and GM Levon Aronian winning on boards 3 and 4, respectively.
• Azerbaijan again won 2.5-1.5, this time against Serbia, with three draws and one victory. GM Mahammad Muradli was once more the sole winner.
• Armenia won 3-1 against Croatia, with GM Shant Sargsyan and GM Manuel Petrosyan winning on boards 2 and 4, respectively.
• China finished off with a 3-1 victory against Uzbekistan 2 thanks to wins by GM Wei Yi (game) and GM Yu Yangyi (game).

The Biggest Upsets

Round 10

CM Ragul Pillay (1603) of Seychelles was not willing to go down without a fight. After trying his best to swindle his opponent, CM Ali Al-Ghasra (1991) of Bahrain, his efforts bore fruit as Al-Ghasra blundered a knight fork.

Other upsets include:

• De V R Joao Car Bartilotti (1545) of Macau, China emerged victorious against Rodney Lim Teck Guan (1902) of Brunei Darussalam (game).
• FM Aram Chekh Adm Khedr (2194) of Syria drew against GM Guillermo Vasquez (2543) of Paraguay (game).
• Aashish Phunyal (2008) of Nepal won against FM Joshua Johnson (2254) of Trinidad and Tobago (game).
• CM Sachin Dhilan Pitamber (1991) of Guyana defeated FM Joshua Christie (2216) of Jamaica (game).
• Andrade Pinto (1820) of Timor-Leste got the better of CM Chiletso Chipanga (2085) of Malawi (game).
• Zhitian Chea (1521) of Cambodia prevailed against Andrew Gadeanang (1770) of Nauru (game).
• Omario Pope (1431) of Grenada won against Larry Thomas (1710) of Dominica (game).

Round 11

Aashish Phunyal (2008) of Nepal had a great tournament, finishing it off with a powerful victory against FM Kirill Chukavin (2362) of Estonia, who Aashish defeated twice after he lost his advantage in the endgame.

More upsets:

• CM Yasser Hadj Kholti (2238) of Morocco emerged victorious against GM Raymond Song (2498) of Chinese Taipei (game).
• CM Purushottam Silal (2093) of Nepal drew against GM Aleksandr Volodin (2485) of Estonia (game).
• CM Hamad Al-Kuwari (1862) of Qatar drew against IM Providence Oatlhotse (2230) of Botswana (game).
• FM Salim Al Amri Salim Mohammed (1951) of Oman drew against GM Felix Izeta Txabarri (2452) of Senegal (game).
• Lumen Paco Semeko (1744) of Togo won against Mohamed El Moctar Sidaty (2031) of Mauritania (game).
• Rodney Lim Teck Guan (1902) of Brunei Darussalam drew against FM John Ranel Morazo (2242) of Palau (game).

Overview (Women's)

China took home gold, two points ahead of second place Kazakhstan, after a moderately shaky round 10 against India, but a dominant round 11 performance versus Vietnam. Kazakhstan, for its part, was able to win against France 2.5-1.5 in round 10 and draw Poland 2-2 in the final round, winning silver under extremely nerve-racking circumstances. Meanwhile, India's drawn matches against China and Georgia in rounds 10 and 11, respectively, also made for a wobbly sprint toward the finish line.

Final Standings

Top Boards

Round 10: China One Point Ahead of Kazakhstan

China vs. India, 2-2

China's match against India promised to be an exciting match between the tournament's 1st and 2nd place teams, with many noting that team India, the #1 seed by starting average rating, would have good chances to halt China's powerful run. The match was a nerve-racking affair till the very end, with just one game, the encounter between GM Zhu Jiner and GM Koneru Humpy, being a very solid draw. On board 2, GM Divya Deshmukh was somewhat worse off against IM Song Yuxin, but only for a brief moment as the engine-approved method of gaining an advantage was not at all clear for carbon-based life forms. Meanwhile, on board 3, IM Lu Miaoyi put on a brilliant endgame display against IM Vantika Agrawal.

Following Lu's wing, India's fate rested in the hands of its soaring board 4, IM Savitha Shri B, who was on 7.5/8 going into round 10. Her game against WGM Zhai Mo saw some truly insane swings, with both sides having chances to outright win the game at more than three different occasions. In the end, Savitha prevailed, pushing her passed pawn and securing the much needed draw for her team.

Kazakhstan vs. France, 2.5-1.5

The elephant in the room of Kazakhstan's match against France was, of course, IM Pauline Guichard's tragic rook blunder against WIM Elnaz Kaliakhmet, which underscores just how important it is in team matches to play on longer than one usually would. Even after the lost rook, Guichard was not yet lost, but holding the resulting endgame is both objectively difficult and practically so considering the heartbreaking nature of the blunder.

Despite the tragedy on board 4, France's match wasn't looking so great halfway through. GM Marie Sebag was in quite some danger against IM Alua Nurman, while IM Meruert Kamalidenova was better against IM Sophie Milliet before the former's fork blunder. On board 1, GM Bibisara Assaubayeva found her form, winning a fine Catalan-by-transposition game against IM Deimante Daulyte-Cornette.

Poland vs. Mongolia, 3-1

Mongolia's ascendancy had come to a close after boards 1 and 3, who were winning at some points of their games, failed to offset one-sided White games by the Polish players on boards 2 and 4. In particular, board 3 saw a topsy-turvy game reminiscent of IM Savitha Shri B's game against WGM Zhai Mo.

Board 2:

Board 4:

Vietnam vs. Indonesia, 2.5-1.5

Following a well-played White game on board 1, an insistence on board 2 by WIM Laysa Latifah to win an endgame, and a somewhat calm draw on board 4, Vietnam's match-changer was WGM Luong Phuong Hanh's game, where she managed to swindle WIM Shafira Devi Herfesa: first by equalizing, then by outplaying her in the resulting exchange-down position, where Luong had a lot of pawns as compensation.

Leaderboard After Round 10

Round 11: China Wins Two Points Ahead

China vs. Vietnam, 3-1

A win for team Vietnam would have meant a tie for first place with China, though owing to the tiebreaks, China would have still finished in 1st place. Alas for team Vietnam, in a fairly anticlimactic final showdown, China was better on all four boards, with GM Zhu Jiner on board 1 and IM Lu Miaoyi on board 3 capitalizing on their advantages, and IM Song Yuxin on board 2 and WGM Zhai Mo on board 4 failing to do so.

Kazakhstan vs. Poland, 2-2

On board 1, IM Oliwia Kiolbasa was nursing a decent advantage against GM Bibisara Assaubayeva's Kalashnikov Sicilian, but the edge in the position was tricky to massage, so Kiolbasa soon found herself in an equal endgame after strong defense by Assaubayeva. Meanwhile, on board 2, IM Alua Nurman suffered her first loss of the tournament, going down against IM Aleksandra Maltsevskaya after the former did not find one key tactical shot on move 18, losing her advantage and ultimately losing a nearly untenable endgame against Maltsevskaya.

Following a moderately calm draw on board 3, WIM Elnaz Kaliakhmet once again saved the match for her team, defeating WGM Alicja Śliwicka after the latter misjudged a pin.

India vs. Georgia, 2-2

With GM Koneru Humpy's brilliant tactical win against GM Nana Dzagnidze, as well as a stable draw on board 3, India seemed to have had the better chances against Georgia and would therefore secure silver with match victory. However, an abrupt tactical blunder by GM Divya Deshmukh handed GM Bella Khotenashvili a critical pawn, which led to positional destruction for Divya as White's pawn could no longer be challenged. India's hopes once again lay with IM Savitha Shri B, who was in fact completely lost against IM Meri Arabidze. As it stood, though, Savitha held another tough position and allowed her team to finish on the podium.

Other Leaders & Results

• The United States of America, initially the 5th seeds in the tournament, improved their rank and finished in fourth place, winning their 11th round match against Romania with key wins by IM Carissa Yip on board 1 and IM Alice Lee on board 2.

Our director of operations, Theo Wait, caught up with IM Alice Lee after her win.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NglC1L68tVY

• Slovenia finished in 10th place, drawing France in the final round after an important victory by Lichess commentator and streamer IM Laura Unuk on board 1, which counterbalanced a loss by WIM Zala Urh against GM Marie Sebag on board 2.
• Türkiye ended their tournament on 16 match points and in 11th place, winning against the incredible Sri Lankan team (boards 2 and 4), which had a very strong performance.

The Biggest Upsets

Round 10

Wu Tansi Tung (1573) of Chinese Taipei outplayed her much higher rated opponent, WFM Sarocha Chuemsakul (1961) of Thailand in the highly unconventional Van Geet opening.

Other upsets include:

• K M Dahamdi Sanudula (1967) of Sri Lanka defeated WGM Yerisbel Miranda Llanes (2251) of Cuba (game).
• H Sandithi Kusalya Alwis (1776) of Sri Lanka drew against WGM Yaniela Forgas Moreno (2249) of Cuba (game).
• Ashwiniy Kumaran (1712) of Malaysia won against Helja Lehtinen (1968) of Finland (game).
• Eana Abdulla Hassan (1581) of Maldives drew against Agustina Silva (1854) of Uruguay (game).
• Sina Tadesse Negi (1447) of Ethiopia emerged victorious against WCM Aina Mahasambatra Tsinjoviniavo (1777) of Madagascar (game).

Round 11

In a complicated, back-and-forth game, Naira Sinoia (1559) of Mozambique was able to get the better of WFM Patricia Evarista Castillo Pena (1905) of the Dominican Republic after drumming up a dangerous attack and masterfully repositioning her king.

More upsets:

• H Sandithi Kusalya Alwis (1776) of Sri Lanka drew against WIM Gulenay Aydin (2213) of Türkiye (game).
• WIM Parva Behzad Nazif (2098) of Iran drew against IM Khanim Balajayeva (2356) of Azerbaijan (game).
• WFM Nikolina Koljevic (1954) of Montenegro drew against FM Lara Schulze (2307) of Germany (game).
• WCM Aida Paunescu (1691) of Cyprus defeated WFM Adani Clarke (1943) of Jamaica (game).
• Alba Pllana (1470) of Kosovo won against WCM Kerstin Danielle Reinhard Moller (1719) of Guatemela (game).
• Sina Tadesse Negi (1447) of Ethiopia emerged victorious against WCM Shemilah James (1758) of Trinidad and Tobago (game).
• Najla Ahmed (1578) of Bahrain got the better of WCM Jamie-Nicole Beukes (1831) of Namibia (game).
• Sabarin Mohamed Ali (1519) of Somalia won against WCM Omaima Ahmed Awad (1785) of Yemen (game).

Board Prizes

Open

Board 1 medals: GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (gold), GM Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş (silver), GM R Praggnanandhaa (bronze)
Board 2: GM Wei Yi (gold), GM Jorden van Foreest (silver), GM Javokhir Sindarov (bronze)
Board 3: GM Frederik Svane (gold), GM Nodirbek Yakubboev (silver), GM Shant Sargsyan (bronze)
Board 4: GM Ihor Samunenkov (gold), GM Gukesh D (silver), GM Levon Aronian (bronze)
Board 5: GM Gleb Dudin (gold), GM Daniil Yuffa (silver), GM Vladimir Hamitevici (bronze)

Women

Board 1 medals: GM Zhu Jiner (gold), IM Carissa Yip (silver), GM Koneru Humpy (bronze)
Board 2: IM Alice Lee (gold), WGM Mariam Mkrtchyan (silver), IM Song Yuxin (bronze)
Board 3: IM Lu Miaoyi (gold), GM Divya Deshmukh (silver), GM Bella Khotenashvili (bronze)
Board 4: WIM Elnaz Kaliakhmet (gold), WIM Ineymig Hernandez Gil (silver), IM Vantika Agrawal (bronze)
Board 5: IM Savitha Shri B (gold), WGM Thi Mai Hung Nguyen (silver), WFM Vesna Mihelic (bronze)

Category Prizes

(Groups are divided by a panel based on their initial starting rank; this process is conducted after round 3)

Open

Group A: United States of America (gold), Azerbaijan (silver), Armenia (bronze)
Group B: Vietnam (gold), Mongolia (silver), Philippines (bronze)
Group C: Ecuador (gold), Lebanon (silver), Chinese Taipei (bronze)
Group D: Pakistan (gold), Myanmar (silver), Kenya (bronze)
Group E: Qatar (gold), Bahamas (silver), Saint Lucia (bronze)

Women

Group A: United States of America (gold), Poland (silver), Armenia (bronze)
Group B: Croatia (gold), Turkmenistan (silver), Uzbekistan 2 (bronze)
Group C: Sri Lanka (gold), Panama (silver), Syria (bronze)
Group D: Ghana (gold), Cyprus (silver), Ethiopia (bronze)
Group E: Maldives (gold), Tanzania (silver), Cambodia (bronze)

Gaprindashvili Cup (Best federation = sum (open + women))

India (gold), United States of America (silver), China (bronze)

Olympiad Tactics

Lichess is working on producing a puzzle pack for the tournament, which will be out in less than a week. Stay tuned to this space to solve all kinds of Olympiad tactics!