Some 400 teams have been confirmed for the FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, next month, an increase of 20 teams over the previous record number that competed at the Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary two years ago.
In the open section, the United States is the top seed with Fabiano Caruana leading the five-player team, while India will aim to defend its 2024 title with Arjun Erigaisi at the head of its lineup, according to FIDE, the international governing body of chess.
“The host nation might be the most dangerous team in Samarkand,” FIDE said this week.
Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov, winner of the prestigious Candidates Tournament in April, leads the team, ahead of Nodirbek Abdusattorov, another of the world’s top players. Nodirbek Yakubboev, Shamsiddin Vokhidov, Madaminov will also play for Uzbekistan, which won the Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India in 2022 and took bronze in Budapest.
China is also fielding a strong team in the open section, while Germany is seeded fifth. The gender-neutral category is called open because women have occasionally participated in male-dominated chess events.
In the women’s competition in Samarkand, India is the top seed with Humpy Koneru at the head of the team, followed by Georgia, China, Kazakhstan and the U.S., according to FIDE.
Kazakhstan’s female chess players have been progressing strongly in recent years, finishing fifth at the Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India in 2022, and second in Budapest in 2024. Bibisara Asaubayeva, who was second at the women’s Candidates tournament this year, leads her squad, followed by Alua Nurman, Meruert Kamalidenova, Elnaz Kaliakhmet and Zarina Nurgaliyeva.
Host Uzbekistan is seeded 13th on the women’s side in Samarkand.
The Chess Olympiad will feature 11 rounds of classical chess from September 16 to 27.
