The 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand is heading into its final day with both Indian teams still in the medal race. The final round is scheduled for tomorrow at 11:30 AM IST. In the Open section, India moved to 17 match points after a commanding 3.5–0.5 victory over Uzbekistan 2. Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin all contributed to the score as India bounced back strongly in the penultimate round. Uzbekistan, meanwhile, defeated Armenia 3.5–0.5 and retained the sole lead with 18 match points. Ukraine, Germany and Hungary are next on 16.
That leaves Uzbekistan one match point ahead of India going into the final round. For India, a match win tomorrow would take the team to 19 points; a draw would put them on 18, while a loss would leave them on 17. Uzbekistan currently has 18, so its own final-round result will also determine how the gold race unfolds. The remaining teams on 16 points are also within the medal fight.
Ranking after Round 10 - Open
Rk. | SNo | FED |
| Team | Group | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 3 | UZB | A | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 378 | 30 | 132 | ||
2 | 2 | IND | A | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 343,5 | 26,5 | 133 | ||
3 | 5 | GER | A | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 320 | 26 | 133 | ||
4 | 12 | UKR | A | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 292 | 26,5 | 115 | ||
5 | 8 | HUN | A | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 250 | 22,5 | 118 | ||
6 | 1 | USA | A | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 328,5 | 26 | 133 | ||
7 | 7 | AZE | A | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 291 | 26 | 121 | ||
8 | 14 | TUR | A | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 288,5 | 26,5 | 120 | ||
9 | 17 | CRO | A | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 285 | 28 | 108 | ||
10 | 30 | UZB | A | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 283 | 24,5 | 124 |
Board Pairings-Open
Bo. | 2 | India (IND) | Rtg | 8 | Hungary (HUN) | Rtg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(c) Srinath Narayanan | (c) Csaba Balogh | |||||
2.1 | GM | 2761 | GM | 2726 | ||
2.2 | GM | 2759 | GM | 2676 | ||
2.3 | GM | 2718 | GM | 2620 | ||
2.4 | GM | 2703 | GM | 2560 | ||
Women's Team
The Women’s section is equally tense. China remains at the top with 18 match points after drawing India 2–2 in Round 10. Kazakhstan moved into second place with 17 after beating France 2.5–1.5, while India, Poland and Vietnam are tied on 16.
For India, a win in the final round would take them to 18 points. A draw would leave them on 17, while a loss would leave them on 16. China, meanwhile, can finish on 20 with a win, 19 with a draw or 18 with a loss. If China and India both finish on 18, the final ranking would then depend on the tournament's tiebreak criteria. Kazakhstan's position also remains important, given that it starts the final round on 17 points.
Rank after Round 10 - Women
Rk. | SNo | FED |
| Team | Group | Games | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 | CHN | A | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 376 | 30 | 132 | ||
2 | 3 | KAZ | A | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 326 | 27 | 129 | ||
3 | 1 | IND | A | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 363,5 | 29 | 133 | ||
4 | 9 | POL | A | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 319 | 26,5 | 131 | ||
5 | 21 | VIE | A | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 298 | 27,5 | 118 | ||
6 | 5 | USA | A | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 334,5 | 29,5 | 122 | ||
7 | 13 | UZB | A | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 319,5 | 27,5 | 126 | ||
8 | 2 | GEO | A | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 313 | 26,5 | 128 | ||
9 | 16 | ARM | A | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 300 | 25,5 | 129 | ||
10 | 23 | ROU | A | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 293 | 28,5 | 110 |
Board Pairings-Women
Bo. | 1 | India (IND) | Rtg | 2 | Georgia (GEO) | Rtg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(c) Mishra Swayams | (c) Salome Melia | |||||
4.1 | GM | 2509 | GM | 2478 | ||
4.2 | GM | 2490 | GM | 2435 | ||
4.3 | IM | 2395 | IM | 2424 | ||
4.4 | IM | 2382 | IM | 2370 | ||
So, after ten rounds, the picture is simple but tense: Uzbekistan lead the Open section by one point, while China lead the Women’s section by two. India needs a strong final round in both sections, with every match point carrying major consequences.
