On the evening of 15 September the EXPO Centre in Samarkand hosted the opening ceremony of the 46th Chess Olympiad — the most representative edition in the event’s history. The open tournament has 208 teams entered and the women’s 191: nearly 400 squads from roughly 200 countries and around 1,980 players in total. No Olympiad has ever gathered a field like this. Round one follows as early as 16 September at 15:00 local time.
The format remains classic: 11 rounds under the Swiss system, with a time control of 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes to the finish and a 30-second increment per move. Arbiters and players are based at the EXPO Centre, the city’s main exhibition venue. Running parallel to the main Olympiad is FIDE’s third event for players with disabilities: after five rounds Poland and the Czech Republic lead there.
The central storylines of the early rounds promise to be the seeded clashes: the USA head the table, with defending champions India next, while the hosts Uzbekistan hope to repeat their triumph of the 2022 Olympiad in Chennai, where they sensationally took gold. Norway, without Carlsen, are seeded only 21st — and that too is part of the intrigue: how will a team that lost its top board respond?
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Teams in the Open | 208 |
| Teams in the Women’s | 191 |
| Players in total | about 1,980 |
| Rounds / playing days | 11 rounds, 16–27 September |
What's next. Playing days run until 27 September. We will publish the results of the key rounds and follow the path of both Armenian teams.
Sources
- FIDE, accessed 16.09.2026
- European Chess Union, accessed 16.09.2026
- Wikipedia, accessed 16.09.2026
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