Indian Teams Wait Five Hours To Get Hotel Rooms At Chess Olympiad In Samarkand

Defending champions India were faced with organisational chaos after landing in Samarkand for the Chess Olympiad, with players being allotted their hotel rooms after a five-hour delay on Tuesday. The Indian teams arrived in the Uzbek city for the FIDE tournament, scheduled to be held from September 16 to 27. However, they had to wait longer than expected and were eventually allotted their rooms, as confirmed by one of the Indian team coaches to PTI.

"All the players have settled into their rooms now. But it was an unpleasant experience," said a member of the travelling squad.

Grandmaster Srinath Narayanan, who is the men's team captain, and GM Vidit Gujrathi earlier took to social media to express their frustration over the delay.

"Having a terrible experience at the @FIDE_chess 2026 Olympiad. The team landed 5 hours ago at Samarkand airport. The team still haven't been allotted rooms, with absolutely no clarity on when they'll be allotted," Srinath posted on X.

"Very poor first impressions of the Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Olympiad 2026. Still waiting...," Gujrathi wrote on X.

— Vidit Gujrathi (@viditchess) September 15, 2026

The accommodation issue was not restricted to the Indian contingent. Austrian Grandmaster Felix Blohberger and Welsh player Jonathan Blackburn also raised similar concerns.

"Same here. We arrived yesterday at 6 a.m. at the hotel, and our captain got his room at 1:30 p.m.," Blohberger replied to Srinath's post on X.

"37 hours awake, 2 flights, halfway round the world, only to be told you don't have a hotel room that night. Typical Olympiad. Finally in my room - worth it," Blackburn wrote on Tuesday.

Uzbekistan Chess Federation Vice President Alisher Sadullaev said efforts were underway to resolve the issue.

"I have had a talk with the Indian team. According to the regulations, the check-in was planned for an earlier time, but the FIDE team and the coordination team have organised everything now, and I think everything is already being set up.

"I'm sure this will be resolved, and from tomorrow onwards, players can comfortably come and start playing their matches," Sadullaev told ChessBase India.

The Indian men's squad is headlined by world champion D Gukesh, Grandmasters R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin and Vidit Gujrathi, along with Srinath.

The women's team comprises several top stars, including Koneru Humpy, R Vaishali, World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, Savitha Shri B and captain Swayams Mishra.

Both Indian teams, comprising five players each, are the defending champions, having won their respective titles in 2024 in a historic achievement.

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