FIDE Chess Olympiad 2026 Starts Today

What is the FIDE Chess Olympiad?

The FIDE Chess Olympiad in a biennial International Team Chess Championship organized by FIDE (the International Chess Federation).

Unlike major chess tournaments where players compete individually, the  olympiad is a competition played between different teams.

FIDE Chess Olympiad 2026

FIDE Chess Olympiad 2026 officially starts today September 16th at Samarkand, Uzbekistan runs from September 16th - 27th, followed by the Opening Ceremony at Silk Road International Exhibition Centre that happened on September 15th, 2026 bringing together 200 nations from all over the world including Pakistan. This year’s event is the largest in history due to 400 teams registered in the event across open and women’s categories.

Samarkand will become the centre for these teams in one of the biggest chess events of the world. There are two categories in the event.

1. Open Category

2. Women's Category

Each team consists of four players with one reserve which means four players compete in each round with one reserve player available as a substitute.The championship follows 11-round Swiss System Format. As the competition progresses, teams are paired according to their results. The Champion in the open category receives the historic Hamilton-Russell Cup, while Vera Menchik Cup is awarded to the best Women’s championship and Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy is awarded to the best combined performance across both sections. 

Why is this the Record Breaking Olympiad?

The number of teams confirmed by FIDE in the Open Section is 208 teams and 192 teams in the Women’s sections which makes the total of 400 teams which breaks the highest record which was 380 teams in the year 2024 in Budapest.

It is also historic because for the first time in the history it is being held in Central Asia.

Top Teams according to Average Rating 

According to the official list top teams considering their average ratings are:

1. US - 2753

2. India - 2735

3. Uzbekistan - 2720

4. China 2707

Germany, Netherland and Azerbaijan are also among the top teams. The US team enters as the top seeds with the group featuring the Grandmasters including Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Hans Niemann, Levon Aronian and Awonder Liang. India is also close to the US and Uzbekistan will also have the advantage of playing on their homeland. China is also one of the strongest teams in the Olympiad 2026.

India arrives as the defending champions in both sections after winning double gold in 2024 Olympiad in Budapest. This double victory was one of the most defining moments of India’s recent rise in Chess. India is completely ready to double their efforts to achieve the victory in Samarkand.

Pakistan at the Olympiad 2026

Pakistan is represented at the Olympiad 2026 in both the Open and Women's sections, with 10 players proudly representing the country in Uzbekistan.

Open Team:

Raja Gauhar (Captain),

1. FM Muhammad Waqar,

2. FM Amer Karim,

3. CM Mafaaz Khalid,

4. Zaman Sohail and

5. Zorez Shabkhez.

Women’s Team:

Wasif Nisar (Captain),

1. Hafiza Mashal Rashid,

2. Zainab Rehman,

3. WCM Zenobia Wasif,

4. AFM Fareeha Saddique and

5. Maliha Ali.

Unusual first Round of Pakistan’s team

Pakistan's first opponent was Israel but unfortunately the scheduled 1st round between Pakistan and Israel couldn’t happen and results were recorded as 4-0 for Israel.

With US leading the championship, India with two titles to defend  from the year 2024, Uzbekistan competing in their homeland and China among strongest countries, and Pakistan after unusual first round the battle has officially started and there are still 10 rounds to go and every round will contribute to the bigger picture of championship and the world's biggest team chess event is underway. 

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