The 46th World Chess Olympiad begins on September 16 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The tournament will feature three men's and three women's teams from the host nation. In the first round, the men's first team will play Jamaica, the second team will face Afghanistan, and the third team will meet Mali. In the women's tournament, Uzbekistan's teams will compete against Trinidad and Tobago, Togo, and Tanzania.
The men's first team will field Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Nodirbek Yakubboev, Shamsiddin Vokhidov, and Mukhiddin Madaminov in the opening round. Javokhir Sindarov will sit out the first game. The women's first team will include Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova, Umida Omonova, Nilufarkhon Imomkuzieva, and Guldona Karimova. First-round matches start at 15:00 local time.
Uzbekistan's first team will face Jamaica. Board pairings: Uzbekistan plays black on boards one and three, and white on boards two and four. The second team takes on Afghanistan, and the third team plays Mali. In the women's section, the first team meets Trinidad and Tobago, the second team faces Togo, and the third team plays Tanzania.
Other notable first-round pairings in the open tournament include Iraq vs. USA, India vs. Thailand, China vs. Uganda, Faroe Islands vs. Germany, Netherlands vs. Hong Kong, Morocco vs. Azerbaijan, and Hungary vs. Malta. In the women's tournament, India plays the Dominican Republic, Tunisia faces Georgia, Kazakhstan meets Botswana, Zambia takes on China, the USA plays Andorra, Iraq faces Ukraine, and Azerbaijan competes against Guatemala.
Ahead of the Olympiad, the lineup orders of leading teams have been revealed. India arranged its players by rating: Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa on board one, followed by Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin, and current world champion Gukesh Dommaraju on board four. Vidit Gujrathi is listed as the fifth player. For Uzbekistan, captain Rustam Kasimdzhanov placed Nodirbek Abdusattorov on board one despite Javokhir Sindarov having a slightly higher rating. Sindarov, Nodirbek Yakubboev, Shamsiddin Vokhidov, and Mukhiddin Madaminov follow in the lineup. However, Sindarov will not play against Jamaica in the first round.
The United States announced its order: Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Hans Niemann, Levon Aronian, and Awonder Liang. China's top five positions are filled by Ding Liren, Wei Yi, Yu Yangyi, Xu Xiangyu, and Kun Xiangyu. Live broadcasts of the games are available on the UzChess YouTube channel in Uzbek and on the City Chess channel in Russian.
The World Chess Olympiad in Samarkand brings together a record 400 teams. Uzbekistan enters the tournament as one of the favorites on home soil, with the main rivals being the USA, India, and China. The newspaper previously reported on who is contending for "gold" and what to expect from the country's three men's and three women's teams. We also provided detailed coverage of the Uzbek teams' preparations for the Olympiad, introduced the compositions of the three men's teams, and spoke with women's team captain Nafisa Muminova about the team's goals and medal prospects. Captain of the first men's team Rustam Kasimdzhanov, in an interview with the editorial team, also discussed Uzbekistan's chances and the main favorites of the Olympiad, emphasizing that he approaches the tournament with "cautious optimism."
Source: www.gazeta.uz