Chess Olympiad: Indian men run into Uzbek wall in key tie for title-defence

The fortunes of the Indian men’s and women’s teams at the 2026 Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, took a different turn after five of the 11 rounds were completed on Sunday. While the men’s team remain well placed to defend their gold medal, sitting second in the standings with 10 points, the women slipped to eighth after losing to their nemesis, Poland.

The tactical decision to move in-form Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa to the top board instead of world champion D. Gukesh seemed to have paid off for the men’s team. The two Chennai Grandmasters turned the match in India’s favour on the extreme boards, with Pragg ending Dutchman Anish Giri’s four-match winning streak as India dispatched the Netherlands 3-1 in a one-sided verdict.

If the fifth round was a pressure test from the Dutch that India passed with flying colours, the sixth round on Monday will present the biggest challenge yet, as they take on home favourites Uzbekistan, led by Javokhir Sindarov and Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

Gukesh, for whom a strong Olympiad performance will be critical ahead of his title defence in November, upstaged Erwin L’Ami for his fourth win in five rounds. Playing with the black pieces, Gukesh was in complete control throughout and converted the advantage as soon as he gained it.

Arjun Erigaisi, who tasted his first win on Saturday, and Nihal Sarin were solid on the second and third boards, respectively. Arjun drew with Jorden van Foreest, while Nihal was held to a draw by Loek van Wely, who coaches Global Chess League side Triveni Continental Kings.

Commenting on his experience of playing on the top board for India, Pragg told the media: “It’s an honour playing Board 1 for India. I think it’s an opportunity to be on Board 1, and I try and give my best. So far it hasn’t been so great, but today it was good. It was quite an important win, so I’m happy with that. We’ll see how it goes.”

Pragg, meanwhile, wasn’t too pleased with himself despite securing his maiden win of the event.

“I think draws are generally fine, but I just had more chances. In all three games, I was the one pushing. Not to get one win there is disappointing. But when the team wins, you’re happier for the team. I think the team is what matters in this event. So you don’t really care too much about your individual score.”

The India women’s side, meanwhile, saw their juggernaut come to a sudden halt with a loss to Poland — their third consecutive Olympiad defeat to the European side after Chennai and Budapest. R. Vaishali’s loss to Aleksandra Maltsevskaya on the second board proved decisive, with the other three matches ending in draws. With six more rounds to go, it will be interesting to see how the women’s team bounces back, drawing confidence from their gold-medal performance in 2024 when they had their backs to the wall.

The biggest shock of the round came in the clash between the USA and Germany, where the top-seeded Americans suffered a defeat to the Germans. Frederik Svane’s win over Hans Niemann gave Germany the crucial two points. After five rounds, Germany, India and Uzbekistan are the only teams with 10 match points.