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Uzbekistan’s dream finish: Olympiad Gold in Samarkand

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Uzbekistan celebrated a historic triumph on home soil as the hosts captured gold in the Open section of the 2026 Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, while China’s emerging generation powered to victory in the Women’s competition.

Uzbekistan sealed their second Olympiad title with a 2.5–1.5 final-round victory over Ukraine. Reserve Mukhiddin Madaminov proved the hero, scoring the decisive win on board four and completing an unbeaten tournament with 5.5/7. The other three games were drawn, giving the hosts the victory they needed to repeat their 2022 Chennai triumph.

Each player on the Uzbekistan team gets US$200,000 from the government. The coach gets US $50,000.

Nodirbek Abdusattorov added individual glory, winning the board-one gold medal with a superb performance rating of over 2,800. India secured team silver following a 2–2 draw with Hungary, while Germany defeated the Netherlands 2.5–1.5 to claim bronze.

China claimed the Women’s section title, with a young team that showed the country's remarkable depth of chess talent. A commanding 3–1 victory over Vietnam in the final round secured gold.

Zhu Jiner led the way, defeating Le Thao Nguyen Pham and finishing unbeaten on 7/9 to earn individual gold on board one. Sixteen-year-old Lu Miaoyi was equally impressive, scoring 9.5/11 without losing a game and collecting the board-three gold medal.

Kazakhstan took silver after drawing 2–2 with Poland, with Elnaz Kaliakhmet’s victory on board four also earning her an individual gold medal. India completed the podium, taking bronze on tiebreak after a 2–2 draw against Georgia.

For Uzbekistan, the lasting image of Samarkand will be a dream fulfilled. Olympiad champions once again, this time in front of their home crowd.

Main picture: FIDE Chess Olympiad 2026 - Samarkand Uzbek winning team Photographer: Michal Walusza  © FIDE

2nd picture: FIDE Chess Olympiad 2026, Round 11, Zhu Jiner of China Photographer: Rafal Oleksiewicz © FIDE

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