The fourth playing day of the Samarkand Olympiad was marked by the favourites’ consistency: as FIDE put it, the leaders have begun to emerge. The Armenian men’s team collected a fourth consecutive win — Argentina fell 2½-1½, and this time the decisive point came from Shant Sargsyan. Both US teams won their matches 3½-½.
Armenia’s match against Argentina followed the now-familiar script: one win, three draws — 2½-1½ in the end. Shant Sargsyan’s point became the team’s fourth team point in four rounds. The Armenian women faced Kazakhstan in round four — a tense battle between leaders of their groups. Meanwhile the US squads again left their opponents no chance: 3½-½ in both the open and the women’s sections.
Among the notable individual results of the round was world champion D Gukesh’s win over Alexey Shirov. In the women’s tournament China and Uzbekistan moved ahead after four rounds: the Chinese women closed their match against Hungary without conceding, while the Uzbek women keep delighting the home crowd. Round five comes today, 20 September: the opponents grow stronger with every cycle, and the next three or four rounds will sort out the medal contenders.
| Round-four match | Result |
|---|---|
| Armenia — Argentina | 2½-1½ (Sh. Sargsyan won) |
| USA (men and women) | both matches 3½-½ |
| China (women) — Hungary | 3½-½ |
| Armenia (women) — Kazakhstan | battle of group leaders |
What's next. Round five comes as early as today, 20 September. We are tracking Armenia, which is going for the maximum, and the first head-to-head duels of the favourites.
Sources
- Chess.com, accessed 20.09.2026
- FIDE, accessed 20.09.2026
- News Armenia, accessed 20.09.2026
- Chess-Results, accessed 20.09.2026
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