Full Round 5 Recap: Uzbekistand and Poland Scores Again
By Robby B. · Mon, 21 Sep 2026
Round 5 saw Uzbekistan sweep Hungary 4–0, India and China strengthen their positions, and Poland stun defending women’s champions India as the race at the top intensifies.
Round 5 in Samarkand brought another exciting afternoon of chess, with several leading teams strengthening their positions and a number of surprises shaking up the standings ahead of the first rest day.The day began with an official team photo shoot, giving players and delegations a chance to relax before the action began. Four ceremonial first moves were also made, including at the highly anticipated Hungary–Uzbekistan match.Open SectionUzbekistan produced the biggest performance of the day, defeating Hungary 4-0. Nodirbek Abdusattorov took advantage of an early pawn blunder by Richard Rapport, while Nodirbek Yakubboev, Javokhir Sindarov and Nodirbek Vokhidov completed a dominant team performance.India also moved into the leading group, defeating the Netherlands 3-1. Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh scored the wins, while the other two games ended in draws. Gukesh continued his strong individual form and moved to 4.5/5.One of the major surprises was Germany’s 2.5-1.5 victory over the United States. Frederik Svane defeated Hans Niemann on the top board, while Mathias Bluebaum held Wesley So to a draw in a difficult ending.China and Armenia drew all four games, while England, France, Iran, Spain, Türkiye and Ukraine also picked up solid results. Tajikistan added another surprise by defeating Slovenia 2.5-1.5.Women’s SectionChina continued their strong start with a 3-1 victory over Bulgaria. Zhu Jiner remained perfect on board one, while Song Xuxin improved to 4.5/5.The biggest upset came from Poland, who defeated defending champions India 2.5-1.5. After three draws, Aleksandra Maltsevskaya scored the decisive victory against Vaishali Rameshbabu to secure the match for Poland.The United States and Uzbekistan played out a 2-2 draw, with Alice Lee recording her fifth consecutive win. Kazakhstan defeated Germany 2.5-1.5 after a tactical turning point on board three, while Azerbaijan also joined the leaders with a 3-1 victory over Serbia.With the standings tightly packed at the top, the Olympiad now heads into its first rest day, with plenty still to play for when the action resumes.