Here we go again!

A particular kind of excitement builds every two years around this time. Because it's Chess Olympiad time! The event occurs once every two years and each edition feels like a reunion of the entire chess world!!! We see hundreds of nations gathered for the Olympiad. This year, it's happening in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

For India, there is an extra layer of anticipation. We are walking in as defending champions in both the Open and Women's sections! Do you remember that Golden sweep in Budapest two years ago? We are eager to see if the magic continues.

Pure Gold! | Photo: Stev Bonhage

And now, it's time for round two! Both Indian teams have landed in Samarkand.

A very interesting photo. Vidit-Gukesh and Sagar-Amruta were definitely not on the same topic! You can also see Abhyuadaya just doing his job! | Photo: Himank Ghosh

Looks like Srinath was dealing with the luggage weight limit problem!

The Indian team bumped into Manu Bhakar at the airport, who was heading off for her own tournament.

The squad assembled and ready.

All set to represent India in Samarkand! | Photo: Sagar Shah

Meet the Team

Captain (Open): Srinath Narayanan

Player

Board

Arjun Erigaisi

Board 1

Praggnanandhaa

Board 2

Nihal Sarin

Board 3

Gukesh Dommaraju

Board 4

Vidit Gujrathi

Board 5

Captain (Women): Swayams Mishra

Player

Board

Koneru Humpy

Board 1

Divya Deshmukh

Board 2

Vaishali R

Board 3

Vantika Agrawal

Board 4

Savitha Shri B

Board 5

The fixed board order will be out soon.

Check out the Olympiad schedule. | Photo: FIDE

Format

System: Swiss format, 11 rounds

Team size: 5 players per squad, 4 play each round

Time control: 90 min for 40 moves + 30 min for the rest, with a 30-sec increment from move 1

For the full team line-ups and board order, check out this detailed breakdown. Today is the opening ceremony of the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad. ChessBase India will bring you all the moments from the event as they happen.

Games begin tomorrow, with Round 1 starting at 3 PM local time (3:30 PM IST).

Full lists of teams are published on the official website:

Check out Opem Teams

Check out Women Teams

Want to catch the action live? Tickets for the venue are available here.

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