Chess Olympiad 2026 Round 7: Uzbekistan Beat China, India Win Again

Hosts Uzbekistan beat China 3-1 to stay perfect in round 7 of the Chess Olympiad 2026, while India beat England and India's women crushed Germany.

Hosts Uzbekistan are seven from seven at the 46th Chess Olympiad after beating China 3-1 in round 7. Nodirbek Abdusattorov beat former world champion Ding Liren on the top board, and Nodirbek Yakubboev beat Yu Yangyi.

Uzbekistan now lead the open section with 14 match points, two clear of a large chasing group. On home soil, in front of their own fans, the Uzbek team is playing with great confidence.

India's open team got back to winning ways with a 2.5-1.5 victory over England. Praggnanandhaa R beat Nikita Vitiugov in just 31 moves, and Gukesh D beat Daniel Fernandez. Gukesh has now won five of his seven games. Arjun Erigaisi drew with the experienced Michael Adams. Nihal Sarin lost a long 88-move game to Luke McShane, but India's two wins were enough.

The United States drew 2-2 with Armenia. Robert Hovhannisyan beat Wesley So, but Awonder Liang won to level the match. Germany beat Turkiye 3-1, with wins for Frederik Svane and Rasmus Svane.

India's women's team had its best day of the event, beating Germany 3.5-0.5. Koneru Humpy beat Dinara Wagner, Divya Deshmukh beat Hanna Marie Klek, and Savitha Shri B won an 89-move marathon against Lara Schulze. Vaishali drew with Elisabeth Paehtz.

Savitha's endurance is something every student can learn from. An 89-move game demands focus for many hours. Long games are often won by the player who keeps concentrating after their opponent has started to tire.

In the women's section China and Kazakhstan drew 2-2 and both remain unbeaten at the top with 13 match points. India are one point behind on 12, level with several other teams.

With four rounds left, the open section belongs to Uzbekistan for now, but one bad round can change everything at an Olympiad.