Four years after its first Open gold, Uzbekistan won again in Samarkand. The result says something about how far its chess team has come—and why the Olympiad feels different from the rest of the calendar.
All smiles for Nodirbek Yakubboev and Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Photo: TheBoburshokh / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
Uzbekistan’s victory in Chennai in 2022 was a surprise. Its young team beat more established chess powers and returned home as national heroes. This time, the Olympiad came to Uzbekistan. Four members of that first winning team were back, now facing the pressure of trying to win in front of a home crowd. They did it. Uzbekistan took Open gold in Samarkand, ahead of India and Germany.
That changes how the first title looks. Chennai announced that Uzbekistan had an exceptional group of players; Samarkand showed they could come back and win again, against a field prepared to take them seriously. Nodirbek Abdusattorov led the team and earned individual gold on the top board, while reserve Mukhiddin Madaminov supplied the decisive win in the final match against Ukraine. There was a setback, too: Germany beat Uzbekistan with three rounds remaining and reopened the race. The hosts responded by beating the United States, Armenia and Ukraine to finish the job.
The setting gave this victory a weight a neutral venue could not. Samarkand hosted teams from across the chess world, and Uzbekistan’s own players were the ones everyone was trying to catch. Even its second team drew attention with an upset of the Netherlands. It would be too much to claim that one tournament tells the whole story of chess in a country, but this was a striking home showing beyond the gold medal alone.
The favorites who fell short
The United States came in as the top seed, with Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Hans Niemann, Levon Aronian and Awonder Liang on its roster. Fourth place is respectable in a field this strong, but it fell short of what that lineup seemed capable of doing. The U.S. was close enough to remain in the conversation late in the event; its loss to Uzbekistan gave the hosts a crucial advantage. India and Germany then took the remaining medals. For a team picked to win—including in our own preview—that is a disappointment.
China’s Open team had a different frustrating finish. It spent much of the Olympiad near the leaders, with Wei Yi playing well enough to earn individual gold on board two. But a late loss to Ukraine damaged its medal chances, and China finished eighth. That placement needs one qualification: China’s Women’s team had an excellent event and won gold. Its younger lineup finished ahead of Kazakhstan and defending champion India, with Zhu Jiner and Lu Miaoyi both earning individual board golds. The two Chinese teams left Samarkand with very different results.
Why this event stays with people
Most elite chess follows individual players. Their ratings, form and rivalries give each tournament its shape. At the Olympiad, those same players are responsible for one part of a shared result. A draw that looks modest on its own might help secure a match; a win from a reserve can decide a title. The strongest name on a team cannot settle every board. That makes it easier to notice players who receive less attention during the rest of the year.
The scale matters as well. Established powers meet teams whose players rarely appear in the same elite events, all competing under their national flags. Uzbekistan’s win was the biggest story in Samarkand, but it happened inside a tournament much larger than the medal race. There were unexpected results, unfamiliar names and teammates waiting for games beside their own to finish. For a short stretch of the chess calendar, the game feels wider than its usual circle of stars.
Uzbekistan has now won two of the last three Open Olympiads. The first victory made people pay attention. Winning the next one at home gave them a reason to keep watching.
— Quiet Move Journal