India ended its campaign at the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand with a double podium finish on Sunday, as the men won silver and the women claimed bronze.
India was the only country to secure medals in both the Open and Women’s sections at the 2026 Olympiad. The men’s team, which arrived as defending champions following its historic double-gold triumph at the 2024 Budapest Olympiad, finished behind hosts Uzbekistan in the Open section.
India entered the final round in second place after a dominant 3.5-0.5 victory over Uzbekistan-2 in Round 10. D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin recorded wins in that encounter.
India faced Hungary in the final round, while Uzbekistan met Ukraine in the gold-medal contest. The Indian team drew its match to secure silver, while Uzbekistan claimed gold on home soil. Arjun Erigaisi proved decisive in the final phase, winning his last-round game to help India hold on to second place.
The silver added another medal to an impressive Olympiad record for a team featuring world champion Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Arjun and Nihal. Gukesh enjoyed a particularly strong second half, registering his seventh win in Round 10 and moving to 8.5 points from 10 games.
INDIAN WOMEN SECURE BRONZE
The women’s team faced a tougher campaign as it attempted to defend its title but recovered strongly to finish among the medals.
India made a promising start before suffering its first loss in Round 5 against Poland. It was another setback against a side that had defeated India in the previous two editions of the Olympiad.
The Indian team bounced back and remained firmly in medal contention. Their Round 10 encounter with leaders China ended in a 2-2 draw, with B Savitha Shri once again producing a crucial result. Savitha defeated Zhai Mo to record her eighth win and take her tally to 8.5 points from nine games.
Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh drew their respective games, while Vantika Agrawal lost to Lu Miaoyi.
Savitha capped her outstanding tournament with a draw against Meri Arabidze in the final round, finishing with nine points from 10 games. Her performance helped India secure the women’s bronze, while China took the gold medal.
India’s double podium finish also saw it retain the Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy, awarded to the top overall federation based on combined performances in the Open and Women’s sections. India had previously won the trophy in 2022 and 2024.
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