Uzbekistan won Open gold after India drew 2–2 with Hungary in the final round, while China took the women’s title after India was held 2–2 by Georgia.
BY PC Bureau
September 27: India failed to retain either of its Chess Olympiad titles in Samarkand on Sunday, settling for silver in the Open section and bronze in the women’s event, but retained the overall Nona Gaprindashvili Cup for the third successive Olympiad.
The results ended India’s bid for a second consecutive Open-and-women’s double after its historic gold-medal sweep at Budapest in 2024. Uzbekistan won the Open gold on home soil, while China took the women’s title.
India’s Open team drew 2–2 with Hungary in the final round, while Uzbekistan defeated Ukraine 2.5–1.5 to finish first with 20 match points. India and Germany both finished on 18, with India taking silver on the tiebreak.
On the final boards against Hungary, R Praggnanandhaa drew Richard Rapport, Arjun Erigaisi defeated Peter Leko, Nihal Sarin drew Benjamin Gledura and D Gukesh lost to Gleb Dudin.
The result meant India could not put pressure on Uzbekistan on the final day. A victory over Hungary would have been necessary to keep the title race alive, along with a failure by the hosts to win their own match.
Instead, Uzbekistan completed its campaign unbeaten at the top of the standings.
For India, the decisive setback had come earlier in the tournament when it lost 1.5–2.5 to Uzbekistan in Round 6. India recovered strongly after that defeat, beating England, drawing Azerbaijan, defeating Germany and then crushing Uzbekistan 2 by 3.5–0.5.
India finished the Open competition with eight wins, two draws and one loss.
Gukesh, one of India’s leading performers during the tournament, suffered his first loss of the Olympiad in the final round. Erigaisi’s victory over Leko ensured that India avoided a match defeat and secured the silver medal.
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Women finish third
The Indian women’s team also ended its title defence with a draw, being held 2–2 by Georgia in the final round.
China had already established a two-point advantage before the final round and went on to win gold. Kazakhstan took silver, while India finished third.
Koneru Humpy defeated Nana Dzagnidze on the top board for India, while Savitha Shri B lost to Meri Arabidze. The remaining games produced the 2–2 result that confirmed India’s bronze.
Team Uzbekistan 🇺🇿 is the winner of the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad! Our congratulations 👏🔥#ChessOlympiad pic.twitter.com/Fvr2xvipfx
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) September 27, 2026
Savitha was one of India’s leading performers in Samarkand, finishing with 8.5 points from 10 games. Her performance was particularly important during the middle rounds as India dealt with inconsistent results from some of its other boards.
India’s only match loss in the women’s section came against Poland in Round 5.
The bronze nevertheless extended India’s run of podium finishes after the team won gold in Chennai in 2022 and Budapest in 2024.
India retains overall trophy
Despite missing out on gold in both sections, India finished as the best combined nation and retained the Nona Gaprindashvili Cup.
The trophy is awarded on the basis of the combined performance of a country’s Open and women’s teams. India’s second-place finish in the Open and third-place finish in the women’s event were sufficient to keep the trophy in Indian hands.
The Samarkand results therefore mark a sharp change from Budapest but not a collapse in India’s Olympiad performance.
India had entered the tournament as defending champions in both sections. In Samarkand, it finished on the podium in both, while Uzbekistan and China took the two principal titles.
The results also underline the difficulty of defending the historic double achieved in 2024. India remained among the leading teams throughout the tournament but could not convert its position into another clean sweep.
For the Open team, the loss to Uzbekistan in Round 6 and the final-round draw with Hungary proved decisive. For the women, the defeat to Poland and the final draw against Georgia left India behind China and Kazakhstan.
The final standings are clear: India won Open silver, women’s bronze and the Gaprindashvili Cup — but no gold in Samarkand.
2026 Chess Olympiad — Final Medal Standings
| Rank | Open Section | Match Points | Women’s Section | Match Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 1 | Uzbekistan | 20 | China | 20 |
| 🥈 2 | India | 18 | Kazakhstan | 19 |
| 🥉 3 | Germany | 18 | India | 18 |
| 4 | Ukraine | 18 | Georgia | 18 |
| 5 | — | — | United States | 17 |
India finished second in the Open on tiebreak and third in the Women’s section. It also finished first in the combined Gaprindashvili Cup standings.
India’s Overall Performance
| Competition | India’s Finish | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Open | 2nd | 🥈 Silver |
| Women | 3rd | 🥉 Bronze |
| Combined | 1st | 🏆 Gaprindashvili Cup |
