India's Chess Olympiad 2026 Success: Open and Women's Teams Triumph

India's Strong Start at Chess Olympiad 2026

India continued its impressive performance at the Chess Olympiad 2026, achieving dominant 3-1 victories in both the Open and Women's sections in Samarkand on Saturday. The Open team triumphed over Spain, while the Women's team secured a win against Mongolia, marking their fourth consecutive victories.

Open Team's Victory Against Spain

The Open team showcased their skills with wins from Arjun Erigaisi and D Gukesh, while R Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin contributed with draws, leading to a solid team victory, as reported by the FIDE website. Gukesh achieved a notable win against Alexei Shirov in 42 moves, and Erigaisi followed suit with a 36-move victory over Maksim Chigaev.

Praggnanandhaa, competing on the top board, managed a draw against David Anton after 38 moves, while Nihal Sarin also held Jaime Santos to a draw after 30 moves, culminating in India's 3-1 win over Spain.

This result keeps India among the top teams, maintaining a perfect record with four wins out of four matches in the Open section. Other unbeaten teams include China, hosts Uzbekistan, Germany, Armenia, the USA, the Netherlands, and Hungary.

Women's Team Defeats Mongolia

In the Women's section, India also upheld its flawless record by defeating Mongolia 3-1. Divya Deshmukh and Savitha Shri both secured victories, while the matches on the first two boards ended in draws. Notably, Savitha remains unbeaten with a perfect score of 4/4.

Koneru Humpy and R. Vaishali completed the results with draws on the top two boards. Humpy drew with Bat-Erdene Mungunzul after a lengthy 82 moves, while Vaishali held Turmunkh Munkhzul to a draw after a 75-move contest.