The Complete Olympiad 2026 Guide: Northern Europe
By Cameron W. · Thu, 03 Sep 2026
The Nordic region saves its best story for the women's section. Sweden's roster includes GM Pia Cramling, one of the most accomplished women's players in chess history, playing alongside her daughter WFM Anna Cramling Bellon, widely known today as a popular chess streamer and content creator, a genuine mother-daughter pairing on the same Olympic team.
The Nordic region saves its best story for the women's section. Sweden's roster includes GM Pia Cramling, one of the most accomplished women's players in chess history, playing alongside her daughter WFM Anna Cramling Bellon, widely known today as a popular chess streamer and content creator, a genuine mother-daughter pairing on the same Olympic team. Norway, notably, fields a roster without Magnus Carlsen, while Denmark's women's team is entirely WFM-titled, five for five. At the other extreme, Greenland brings just four players, no titles, and no separate women's section at all. Here is how Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden line up heading into Samarkand.
Board order below is provisional, based on FIDE rating, until national captains submit their fixed lineups under the Olympiad Regulations.
Sweden
Open
Board 1 Spotlight: GM Grandelius Nils (2603) leads a roster with two GMs and three IMs.
One to watch: IM Seo Jung Min (2503), the highest of three IMs and a genuine second source of points.
Prediction: Two GMs anchoring three IMs give Sweden a competitive, professionally titled Open campaign.
Women
Board 1 Spotlight: GM Cramling Pia (2388) leads a roster that includes her daughter, WFM Cramling Bellon Anna, at board four, one of the most heartwarming storylines in this entire series.
One to watch: WFM Cramling Bellon Anna (2106), whose enormous following as a chess streamer adds a genuine crossover audience to Sweden's campaign.
Prediction: A legendary GM playing alongside her own daughter gives Sweden's women's team the single best human-interest story of the Nordic region, regardless of the final result.
Denmark
Open
Board 1 Spotlight: GM Bjerre Jonas Buhl (2615) leads a roster with four GMs and an IM.
One to watch: GM Thybo Jesper Sondergaard (2579), the second of four GMs and a genuine source of depth.
Prediction: Four GMs give Denmark real strength and a strong chance of a competitive finish in the Open section.
Women
Board 1 Spotlight: WFM Derlich Sarah Sima (2107) leads a roster where all five players hold the WFM title, matching the rare uniformity seen only a handful of times in this series.
One to watch: WFM Kakulidis Ellen (2088), close behind board 1 in a tightly bunched, fully titled lineup.
Prediction: An entirely WFM-titled roster gives Denmark a consistent, well-trained women's team even without a single standout name at the top.
Norway
Open
Board 1 Spotlight: GM Christiansen Johan-Sebastian (2656) leads a roster of four GMs and an IM, notably without Magnus Carlsen.
One to watch: GM Amar Elham (2577), the second of four GMs and a genuine source of points in Carlsen's absence.
Prediction: Four GMs still give Norway a competitive Open campaign, even if the roster carries less star power than fans might expect.
Women
Board 1 Spotlight: WIM Stanford Sheila Barth (2186) leads a roster that includes sisters WIM Ellen and WFM Nina Hagesather at boards two and five.
One to watch: WIM Hagesather Ellen (2155), part of a genuine sister pairing that gives Norway's women's team its own family storyline.
Prediction: A fully titled roster lifted by the Hagesather sisters should keep Norway competitive in the middle of the regional field.
Iceland
Open
Board 1 Spotlight: GM Stefansson Vignir Vatnar (2531) leads a roster with four GMs and an IM, including veteran GM Johann Hjartarson.
One to watch: GM Hjartarson Johann (2461), a former World Championship Candidate still competing at an elite level.
Prediction: Four GMs, anchored by a genuine chess legend, give Iceland real depth for a competitive Open campaign.
Women
Board 1 Spotlight: WGM Ptacnikova Lenka (2082) leads a roster with three more titled players behind her.
One to watch: WFM Thorsteinsdottir Hallgerdur (1995), a clear second option behind board 1.
Prediction: A WGM-led, mostly titled roster should keep Iceland competitive in the middle of the Nordic field.
Finland
Open
Board 1 Spotlight: GM Nyback Tomi (2593) leads a roster with two IMs and two FMs, including IM Toivo Keinanen, who may share a family connection with Finland's own women's board 1.
One to watch: IM Keinanen Toivo (2498), part of a possible Keinanen family pairing spanning both of Finland's teams.
Prediction: A GM anchoring two IMs and two FMs gives Finland a competitive, professionally titled Open campaign.
Women
Board 1 Spotlight: WIM Keinanen Anastasia (2220) leads a fully titled roster, sharing a surname with Finland's Open board two.
One to watch: FM Paasikangas Johanna (2139), Finland's only FM on the women's side and a genuine second scoring option.
Prediction: A fully titled, tightly packed roster should keep Finland competitive throughout the Women's section.
Faroe Islands
Open
Board 1 Spotlight: FM Apol Luitjen Akselsson (2305) leads a roster with an IM close behind and three untitled players.
One to watch: IM Rodgaard John (2250), the Faroe Islands' only IM and a near-certain fixture near the top of the lineup.
Prediction: Two titled boards carrying an otherwise untitled roster give the Faroe Islands a modest but stable Open campaign. The Faroe Islands did not register a women's team.
Greenland
Open
Board 1 Spotlight: Dahl Hans-Christian (1858) leads a four-player roster, one short of a full squad, with no titled players and two of four players unrated.
One to watch: Fleischer Carl (1640), the only other rated player on the team.
Prediction: With no titles, two unrated players, and a squad short of a full five, Greenland's Olympiad looks like a first international outing focused entirely on experience. Greenland did not register a women's team.
The regional picture
Sweden's Cramling mother-daughter pairing is the defining story of this batch, and arguably one of the best in the entire series, while Norway's Carlsen-less roster is a reminder that even the strongest chess nations don't always field their most famous name. Denmark's fully WFM women's team and the possible Keinanen family connection in Finland add further texture, and Iceland's Johann Hjartarson provides a genuine link to an earlier era. At the other end, the Faroe Islands and Greenland close out the region with modest, developmental rosters, Greenland fielding neither a full team nor a women's section at all.
