Uzbekistan Pulls Clear as Gukesh Delivers Mate on Board One
By Cameron W. · Sat, 26 Sep 2026
Two rounds from the finish in Samarkand, the Olympiad has a single leader again. Uzbekistan beat the United States 2.5-1.5 on Thursday, and with Germany losing to India on the next table over, the hosts are alone at the top of the Open section for the first time since the draw that had tied them with Germany in round 8.
Two rounds from the finish in Samarkand, the Olympiad has a single leader again. Uzbekistan beat the United States 2.5-1.5 on Thursday, and with Germany losing to India on the next table over, the hosts are alone at the top of the Open section for the first time since the draw that had tied them with Germany in round 8.The USA match had the kind of top-board violence you'd expect from the tournament's two best-supported teams. Nodirbek Abdusattorov beat Fabiano Caruana on board one, and Nodirbek Yakubboev beat Hans Niemann on board three for what is now his sixth win in as many tries against the American. The Americans got one back when Wesley So beat world championship challenger Javokhir Sindarov on board two, but Muhiddin Madaminov's draw with Levon Aronian on board four was enough to see the match home for Uzbekistan.Gukesh mates, and Germany's day gets worseIndia's win over Germany was tighter on paper (2.5-1.5) and considerably more dramatic on the board. D Gukesh, with black against Alexander Donchenko, walked his opponent into a mating attack rather than grinding out a technical point, the kind of finish that gets replayed regardless of the standings context. Nihal Sarin drew with Frederik Svane, and both Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi split their games, but Gukesh's result was the one that decided the match and dropped Germany out of the lead group entirely.India now sits level with Uzbekistan-2, the hosts' reserve squad, at 15 match points apiece. Uzbekistan-2 had a rout of its own, beating the Netherlands 3.5-0.5, with Jahongir Vakhidov beating Anish Giri and further wins from Suyarov and Nigmatov. Uzbekistan's third team also won, edging Kyrgyzstan 2.5-1.5 behind Asrorjon Omonov, meaning all three Uzbek squads finished the round with match wins. Armenia rounds out the top four after a 2.5-1.5 win over Azerbaijan.That puts three different national teams (or reserve squads of one nation) inside a single point of the lead with two rounds to play, which is about as tight a finish as the Open section could ask for.China survives a rematch, India beats the top seed in the women's sectionThe women's tournament had its own dose of revenge chess. China had lost to Armenia earlier in the event, and beat them back on Thursday behind wins from Zhu Jiner and Lu Miaoyi, stretching the gap at the top to two points over the chasing pack.Below them, India beat top seed Uzbekistan 3-1, with Divya Deshmukh and Vantika Agrawal both winning their individual games. It's the kind of result that keeps India's medal hopes alive in both sections at once, a distinction very few federations can claim with two rounds left. Uzbekistan's reserve and third women's teams had mixed days, the second squad winning away to Iceland and the third losing a close one to Italy.China leads the women's section at 17 match points, with India, Kazakhstan and Mongolia bunched behind on 15.Two rounds, six teams with something to play forWith the tournament headed into its final stretch, the picture in both sections is now the same: one team out front, and a cluster right behind it that could still catch up. Uzbekistan will need to keep winning with three squads in medal contention simultaneously, India is chasing podiums in both the Open and women's events, and Germany, after two rounds without a win, has almost no margin left if it wants to salvage the top prize it looked ready to fight for a week ago.Round 10 is set for Friday, with China's clash against India in the women's section shaping up as the round's marquee pairing.