Chess Olympiad 2026: India Win Open Silver, Women Take Bronze in Samarkand

India's two-year hold on the Chess Olympiad Open title came to an end in Samarkand on Sunday. The defending champions could only draw their final-round match against Hungary 2-2, and that was enough for hosts Uzbekistan to lock up gold before their own last match had finished. India left the 46th Olympiad with silver in the Open section and bronze in the women's section, so both teams still finished on the podium.

One loss on the top board

India needed a win against Hungary to keep the pressure on Uzbekistan. The top board went badly. World champion D Gukesh lost to Hungarian grandmaster Gleb Dudin, which put the team a point down and in danger of losing the match outright.

Arjun Erigaisi rescued the result by beating veteran grandmaster Peter Leko, and the two remaining boards were shared. A 2-2 draw kept India on the podium but ended any chance of gold.

The silver came down to a tiebreak. India and Germany both finished on 18 match points and 28.5 game points. India won an earlier head-to-head match against Germany, and that direct-encounter result put India ahead. Germany took bronze after beating the Netherlands 2.5-1.5 in the final round.

Uzbekistan's second title

Uzbekistan were leading Ukraine 2-1 with one game still going when India's draw was confirmed. At that point nobody could catch them. They went on to win the match 2.5-1.5, with Mukhiddin Madaminov scoring the deciding win over Roman Dehtiarov.

It is Uzbekistan's second Olympiad gold. Their first came in 2022, when the event was held in Chennai. Now the young Uzbek team has won again, this time on home soil, and the rivalry between the two federations looks set to shape team chess for years to come.

Women hold their nerve for bronze

The women's section was also decided on tiebreaks. India drew 2-2 with Georgia in the final round. Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh won their games, and Vantika Agrawal drew. The last point came from IM Savitha Shri, who saved a draw from a difficult position against Georgia's IM Meri Arabidze. Without that draw the match would have been lost, and India would have finished off the podium.

China won gold comfortably after beating Vietnam 3-1 and finished two points clear of the field. Kazakhstan took silver after drawing 2-2 with Poland.

What the result means

Two medals at an Olympiad is a strong return by most standards. But India came to Samarkand as double defending champions, so silver and bronze are a step down from Budapest two years ago. The Open result will draw the most attention. India's top board lost in the round that mattered most, and the team needed a tiebreak just to finish second.

The women's bronze keeps India among the leading nations in the women's game. Their depth, with points coming from boards other than the top two, was the difference on Sunday.

Both teams return with medals. They also know other nations are closing the gap on India's position at the top of world chess.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.