Chess Olympiad Part I
Hi Friends!
Hope you're doing well. Today we're going to take you on a journey to Samarkand, Uzbekistan for the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad, an amazing global get together that happens every couple years with the best chess players from all around the world, representing over 200 federations. Six rounds have passed and tomorrow is the rest day. The way this works is it's a team Swiss, meaning you get paired with another team at your score and your board 1 plays their board 1, board 2 vs board 2, etc. Your team score is based on which team gets more points (e.g. 2.5-1.5 wins a match) and teams get 2 points for a team win, 1 point for a team tie (2-2 in the match), and 0 points for a team loss. There are five rounds to go so we wanted to give you a half (ish) time update, with some cool positions from the tournament and my predictions the rest of the way. #TLDR folks, I anticipate the home team Uzbekistan will win the Open section, and China will win the Women's section.
In the 2024 Olympiad, India, USA, and Uzbekistan podium'd in Open and India, Kazakhstan, and USA podium'd in Women. The podium this year will likely look quite different. Let's get to some games!
In round 1 of the Women's event, there was a huge upset draw. Kothar of Oman found a beautiful move for White in this position down a Knight and two Pawns to hold a draw. Do you see it? It's a particularly clever stalemate trick! It's Re3!! If Black takes, it's stalemate and if Black moves their King, just keep checking with the Rook one square away from the King! Brava Kothar! All you readers out there, remember this trick to snatch draws from the jaws of defeat!
In this round 3 clash between Georgia and Finland, GM Baadur Jobava, famous for his Jobava London opening, came up with a lovely sacrifice that you can also try in your games, if your pieces are sufficiently developed and ready to follow through! My Dad does this sacrifice a little too often, even when it's unsound! Do you see it? It's Bxh6!! This bold sac of the Bishop creates dominant attacking chances that more than compensate for the material loss. After gxh6, Qxh6 and Black has no way to kick the Queen and White has the d3 Bishop controlling h7 and regardless of what Black does, they're in big trouble.
In round 6 of the Open event, two of the favorites, Uzbekistan and India, faced off. On board 3, there was a decisive moment for Yakubboev (White) in this position. Do you see it? It's a rather involved beautiful combination! Ne6+!! Note that on the surface you're hanging a Knight though forking the King and Queen but after Rxe6, if gxh4+, the Black Queen on c7 is undefended and the White Queen on h2 can take it! It's a rather lovely discovered attack, another theme to explore as you improve. This win for Yakubboev secured the 2.5-1.5 victory for Uzbekistan with the other three games drawing.
The games may be very early in the morning for my fellow Americans, but you can follow it all and catch up here: 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad 2026 | Open - All the Information - Chess.com. Before we let you go, here are some of the biggest upsets of the tournament thus far.
Enjoy the next five rounds and let me know your predictions and thoughts! I'm rooting for great chess and of course all my homies from around the world, especially USA, India, and Turkey!
That's all for today! See y'all next time! Sarang out.
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