Chess Olympiad 2026 Begins in Samarkand: What Is the Olympiad?

The 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad begins today in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Here is how the world's biggest team chess event works and why it matters.

The 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad begins today in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. It is the biggest team event in chess, and for many players representing their country there is the highlight of their career.

The Olympiad has two sections: an Open section, in which anyone can play, and a Women's section. Countries send a team to each. In every match four players from each team sit down against four players from the other team, one game on each board.

The event is an 11-round Swiss for teams. In a Swiss system teams are not eliminated. Instead, after each round teams with similar scores are paired against each other. Teams that keep winning meet stronger and stronger opponents, which helps make sure the best team finishes on top.

Each game is played at a classical time control: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 more minutes, with 30 seconds added after every move. Players therefore have time for deep, careful chess.

In team chess, the result of the match matters most. If a team wins more of the four games than its opponent, it wins the match and earns match points. A team can win a match 2.5 to 1.5 even if one of its players loses, as long as the others score enough. This makes the Olympiad very different from an individual tournament.

The Open section brings together many of the world's best players. The players listed for the event include Fabiano Caruana, Javokhir Sindarov, Wesley So, Vincent Keymer, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Praggnanandhaa R. Uzbekistan, the host country, will have home support, and India's strong teams will be watched closely by fans.

This week Samarkand is also hosting the 3rd FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities, a reminder that chess is a game for everyone.

Over the next twelve days ChessDaily will follow the Olympiad round by round. Keep an eye on how teams use their players and how a single game can decide a whole match.