Chess Olympiad 2026: How can India retain gold?
India is second in the open section, one point behind leader Uzbekistan. | Photo Credit: FIDE
India is second in the open section, one point behind leader Uzbekistan. | Photo Credit: FIDE
Heading into the final day of the Chess Olympiad 2026 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, India’s path to retaining gold is far from straightforward.
As things stand, India is the second in the open standings with 17 points behind leader Uzbekistan and is third in the women’s section with 16 points behind Kazakhstan and leader China.
On the final day, India faces Hungary in the open section and Georgia in the women’s section. For the men, the task at hand is clear- they need to beat Hungary to guarantee atleast a silver.
To win gold, India will need to defeat Hungary and hope that Uzbekistan loses to Ukraine. In the event that India wins and Uzbekistan draws, the two countries will finish level on match points and the verdict will come down to something called the Sonneborn-Berger tiebreak rule, which essentially measures the relative strength of the teams you have beaten.
Going by that rule, Uzbekistan is likely to come out on top, given India did not secure as many big-margin victories in the tournament.
In the women’s field, it stands only an outside chance, as India will need to defeat Poland, its opponents on the final day, by a considerable margin, and require China and Kazakhstan to lose to Vietnam and Poland respectively.
Published on Sep 27, 2026
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