India returns to the grand stage of Samarkand, fresh from a historic double‑gold haul in Budapest 2024. The 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad is already buzzing, with 200 national teams lining up for 11‑round battles.
The format is a Swiss‑system marathon: each team fields four of its five players per round, earning two points for a win, one for a draw, none for a loss. A single match is a quartet of individual duels, and the team with the highest match‑points after round 11 lifts the trophy.
Games kick off at 3 pm local time (3:30 pm IST) from September 16, pausing for a rest day on the 22nd, then resume on the 23rd through the 27th. The closing ceremony bows out at 11 am local time.
On the Indian side, Praggnanandhaa opens the board, followed by Erigaisi, Sarin, world champion Gukesh and Vidit. Captain Srinath Narayanan steers the men's ship. Women’s squad stars include Humpy, Deshmukh, Vaishali, Vantika, and Shri, with Swayams Mishra at the helm.
The competition is fierce: hosts Uzbekistan (led by Sindarov and Abdusattorov), the USA, and China are all in the men’s hunt, while Georgia, Kazakhstan, China and the USA vie for women’s supremacy. Home‑court advantage could tilt the scales.
With 11 rounds still ahead, India’s next big test is the final stretch—especially the showdown against host Uzbekistan. A win keeps the double‑crown dream alive.