Event finished
Chess Olympiad 2026 in Samarkand: the recap
Eleven rounds, two Swiss teams and 88 individually annotated games. Here is how it went, which games to open first, and where the detail lives.
16 to 27 September 2026 · Samarkand, Uzbekistan
The 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand is over. From 16 to 27 September 2026 Switzerland played eleven rounds in two sections, the open team and the women's team, and both finished the event with a win in the last round.
The open team finished 46th of 206, on six wins, two draws and three losses for 14 match points. All three losses had the same score, 1 to 3, against Azerbaijan, Türkiye and Serbia. Between them came clear wins over Burundi and Kosovo, a 3 to 1 against Scotland and a 3 to 1 against Uzbekistan 3.
The women's team finished 18th of 189, the better of the two Swiss results. They opened with two 4 to 0 results against Thailand and Egypt, then beat the Czech Republic and Italy and drew with Estonia and the Netherlands. After the losses to the USA and Indonesia they took five of the last six match points.
Uzbekistan won the olympiad ahead of India and Germany; China won the women's section ahead of Kazakhstan and India. All 88 games of the two Swiss teams are annotated one by one, along with two games from other matches that earned it on their own.
Open
Chess Olympiad Samarkand 2026
46 of 206 seeded 33
- Record
- 6/2/3
- Match points
- 14
- Board points
- 25 of 44
From 11 team matches played. Wins, draws and losses in that order.
Gold: Uzbekistan. Silver: India. Bronze: Germany.
Women
Chess Olympiad Samarkand 2026: Women
18 of 189 seeded 17
- Record
- 6/3/2
- Match points
- 15
- Board points
- 28 of 44
From 11 team matches played. Wins, draws and losses in that order.
Gold: China. Silver: Kazakhstan. Bronze: India.
The best games of the 2026 Chess Olympiad
GM Sebastian Bogner vs IM Saidakbar Saydaliev
A win with Black over an international master, and the one game of the round in which the opponent's king attack turned into his problem.
An English: 12...Nb8 to regroup, 17.Ne2 punished after the move-16 h4 attack, and a move-35 rook that would already have been enough on move 29.
Read the analysisGM Sebastian Bogner vs IM Frederick Waldhausen Gordon
A pawn and a half down and won anyway: the game in which the material count said the least about the position.
A French: a pawn and a half down, then 18.d5, 20.Qe5 and a passed pawn on a2 that never gets taken.
Read the analysisIM Fabian Bänziger vs IM Luis Ernesto Rodi
The only win of the final round, which is the game that decided the 2.5 to 1.5 against Uruguay.
An Italian Two Knights: 16.Nd5 occupies the outpost, 28...Rd1+ is the simplification that was none, and the passed pawn goes through with 51.b8=Q.
Read the analysisWIM Mariia Manko vs GM Zhaoqin Peng
A win against a grandmaster, counted through to the end of the liquidation.
A Catalan with White: 20.Nxf7 counts the liquidation to the end, and 22.Bxb8 takes the knight that never moved.
Read the analysisGM Alexandra Kosteniuk vs IM Deysi Cori T.
The final round on board one, against an international master, and the start of the 2.5 to 1.5 against Peru.
A Classical French with White: 17...h6 is the tactical error, 18.Rc1 after fifteen minutes leaves 18.Bxb4 on the board twice in a row, and 30.Bxh6 uses the pin on the g7 pawn.
Read the analysisWIM Sofiia Hryzlova vs WIM Jana Mohamed Zaki
From the second 4 to 0 of the event, and an example of the order of captures mattering.
A French Defence with White: 11.h3 gives the centre away, 17...g4 hands it back, and 21.Bxd6+ finds the only order.
Read the analysisVideos
Sebastian Bogner explains
The full interview from the free day, and four positions from his games in his own words.
Questions about the 2026 Chess Olympiad
- Who won the 2026 Chess Olympiad?
- Uzbekistan won the open section ahead of India and Germany. China won the women's section ahead of Kazakhstan and India.
- When and where was the 2026 Chess Olympiad played?
- The 46th Chess Olympiad ran from 16 to 27 September 2026 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, over 11 rounds of Swiss pairing.
- How did Switzerland do at the 2026 Chess Olympiad?
- The open team finished 46 of 206 on 6/2/3 in wins, draws and losses, with 25 of 44 board points. The women's team finished 18 of 189 on 6/3/2 and 28 of 44 board points.
- Who played for Switzerland?
- For the open team: GM Sebastian Bogner, GM Nico Georgiadis, GM Peng Li Min, IM Fabian Bänziger, FM Colin Federer. For the women's team: GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, WIM Mariia Manko, WIM Sofiia Hryzlova, WGM Ghazal Hakimifard, WIM Camille De Seroux.
- Where are the final standings?
- The official final standings for both sections are at chess-results, linked with each team's numbers further up this page.
Every round of the 2026 Chess Olympiad
Chess Olympiad Samarkand 2026
The round overview with all eleven team matches, the results and every annotated game.
All rounds of the OlympiadChess Olympiad Samarkand 2026: Women
The round overview with all eleven team matches, the results and every annotated game.
All the women’s roundsThe Swiss team
The squad with every player, their ratings and their games.
Meet the Swiss teamThe Swiss women’s team
The squad with every player, their ratings and their games.
The Swiss women’s team in detail