FIDE Chess Olympiad 2026 Schedule Confirmed: India to Defend Open and Women’s Titles in Samarkand

The schedule for the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad was unveiled on Monday, confirming that the prestigious 11-round team chess event will take place from September 16 to 27, 2026, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The announcement positions India as the defending champion in both the Open and Women’s categories, following its historic double-gold performance at the 2024 Olympiad in Budapest.

Tournament Schedule and Format

The competition will formally open on September 15 with the opening ceremony. Rounds 1 through 6 will be staged on consecutive days from September 16 to 21. A single rest day has been scheduled for September 22, after which play resumes with Round 7 on September 23. The remaining rounds will continue through the final day, September 27.

According to the released schedule, Rounds 1 to 10 will commence at 3 pm local time in Samarkand, equivalent to 3.30 pm IST. The final round on September 27 will begin one hour earlier, at 11 am local time (11.30 am IST), to accommodate the closing ceremony later in the day. Both the Open and Women’s sections will be contested over 11 rounds under the Swiss system.

India’s Open Squad

India will field a formidable Open team, including:

• Arjun Erigaisi
• R Praggnanandhaa
• Nihal Sarin
• D Gukesh (reigning World Champion)
• Vidit Gujrathi

India’s Women’s Squad

The Women’s team will be represented by:

• Koneru Humpy
• Divya Deshmukh
• R Vaishali
• Vantika Agrawal
• Savitha Shri B

Stakes for Defending Champion India

India enters the Samarkand edition on the back of a landmark 2024 campaign in Budapest, where both the Open and Women’s teams captured gold, securing the country’s first-ever Olympiad team titles. The upcoming event offers the defending champion an opportunity to consolidate its position at the summit of international team chess.

Source

This report is based on information published by Sportstar (The Hindu) — Chess.

Official source: https://sportstar.thehindu.com/chess/chess-olympiad-2026-schedule-india-title-defence-samarkand-dates-timings/article71412427.ece