Samarkand is preparing to host the largest Chess Olympiad yet, with organizers expecting 398 teams as Uzbekistan stages the tournament for the first time in Central Asia.
The 46th Chess Olympiad opens on September 15 at the Silk Road International Tourism Center and runs until September 27, with the first round to be played on September 16, according to the official schedule.
Organizers say 208 teams will compete in the Open section and 190 in the women’s competition. The expected field of 1,974 players includes 240 grandmasters. More than 4,000 guests are expected when coaches and delegation members are included.
That turnout would exceed the 374 teams recorded by FIDE at the 2024 Budapest Olympiad. Both sections will be contested over eleven rounds, with four players competing for each team in every match. Teams may also register one reserve player.
The Olympiad dates back to 1927. Its arrival in Samarkand brings the competition to a historic Silk Road city whose center is inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
Uzbekistan enters the Open competition as the third seed, according to the organizers’ figures based on average team ratings. The United States leads the seedings, ahead of defending champions India.
The U.S. team includes Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, and Levon Aronian, while Hans Niemann is set to make his Olympiad debut. Vincent Keymer will represent Germany, and France’s squad includes Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.
For Uzbekistan, Javokhir Sindarov and Nodirbek Abdusattorov bring top-ten credentials to the home challenge. Sindarov is fourth in FIDE’s September rankings, while Abdusattorov is seventh. The rankings cited by the organizers also place Nodirbek Yakubboev 39th and Shamsiddin Vokhidov 61st, giving the main squad four players among the world’s top 100.
Former FIDE world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov has also been named in the main Open lineup. His inclusion adds experience to a squad built around Uzbekistan’s younger grandmasters.
The hosts will field three teams in each section, opening places for emerging players. Nilufarkhon Imomkuziyeva and Khumoyun Begmurodov, both 16, are among those making their Olympiad debuts.
In the women’s competition, Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova is set to represent Uzbekistan after playing for the United States at the 2024 Budapest Olympiad. Nafisa Muminova, Uzbekistan’s first woman grandmaster, will serve as captain.
The organizers cite Afruza Khamdamova’s position at 26th in the women’s world rankings, with Tokhirjonova 80th. Uzbekistan’s women have climbed 17 places since 2025 to 21st in FIDE’s federation rankings, while the Open side has risen 15 places to sixth.
India is the top seed in the women’s competition. Kazakhstan’s lineup includes three-time women’s world blitz champion Bibisara Assaubayeva, who also won Norway Chess Women 2026, securing the title in Oslo with a round to spare.
Ukraine’s first board will be 16-year-old Anastasiia Hnatyshyn, who won the European Women’s Championship in June after entering the tournament as the 76th seed.
Samarkand will also host the third FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities from September 10 to 18. Organizers expect a record 41 teams, compared with 26 at the inaugural event in Belgrade in 2023 and 34 in Astana in 2025.
The disability competition is expected to bring together 196 players – 150 men and 46 women. It will be played over seven rounds under the Swiss system, in which teams are paired against opponents with similar scores as the tournament progresses.
Alongside the competitions, Samarkand will host the 97th FIDE Congress from September 19 to 28, with leaders of more than 200 national chess federations expected to attend. The Congress will include the election of the FIDE president.
For Sindarov, the home Olympiad comes around eight weeks before his world title match against India’s Gukesh Dommaraju in Geneva. The championship is scheduled for November 22 to December 13. Both players will be 20 when it begins, making it the youngest world championship match in chess history.
This article is part of TCA’s coverage of the 46th Chess Olympiad, supported by the event organizers.
