English Chess Forum

The 2026 Olympiad starts in Samarkand tomorrow, with presumably the first round pairings appearing sometime today.

Slightly surprised that there has not been any discussion here yet, other than the England selection criteria being debated in another thread.

Nigel White wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 15, 2026 12:26 pm

The 2026 Olympiad starts in Samarkand tomorrow, with presumably the first round pairings appearing sometime today.

Slightly surprised that there has not been any discussion here yet, other than the England selection criteria being debated in another thread.

The games start at 15:00 local time which, I believe, is 11:00 am British time. With the technical meeting being tonight we may get to see match pairings and confirmed board order today, provided there aren't too many teams unable to get to the meeting and confirm their attendance. Board pairings are more likely to be published tomorrow.

Website with report with photos

Results for Open and Women

England women seeded 20th, men 11th

Link to Open teams
https://s2.chess-results.com/tnr1469895 ... 0&SNode=S0

Board orders not yet published

Until captains are invited to submit their fixed board order in accordance with the Olympiad Regulations, team members are provisionally listed in descending rating order.

Link to Women's teams
https://s1.chess-results.com/tnr1469896 ... 0&SNode=S0

Apparently a record entry for both sections.

It looks as if the board orders have been declared

11. England (RtgAvg:2624, Captain:William N Watson)
Bo. Name Rtg FED FideID
1 GM Vitiugov Nikita 2666 ENG 4152956
2 GM Adams Michael 2598 ENG 400041
3 GM Maroroa Jones Gawain C B 2633 ENG 409561
4 GM McShane Luke J 2598 ENG 404853
5 GM Fernandez Daniel Howard 2542 ENG 5801605

20. England (RtgAvg:2301, Captain:Stuart C Conquest)
Bo. Name Rtg FED FideID
1 FM Sivanandan Bodhana 2354 ENG 497592
2 WGM Yao Lan 2270 ENG 8610835
3 IM Houska Jovanka 2297 ENG 405094
4 IM Hunt Harriet V 2284 ENG 403512
5 WGM Mirzoeva Elmira 2181 ENG 4127951

That's pretty much as expected, isn't it?

Monaco & Barbados for England.

Bo. 113 Monaco (MNC) Rtg - 11 England (ENG) Rtg 0 : 0
(c) Alexis Cahen (c) William N Watson
11.1 GM Efimov, Igor 2263 - GM Vitiugov, Nikita 2666
11.2 FM Cahen, Alexis 2078 - GM Maroroa Jones, Gawain C B 2633
11.3 IM Levacic, Damir 2100 - GM McShane, Luke J 2598
11.4 FM Verdier, Patrice 2009 - GM Fernandez, Daniel Howard 2542

Bo. 114 Barbados (BAR) Rtg - 20 England (ENG) Rtg 0 : 0
(c) Tatiana Kasparova (c) Stuart C Conquest
20.1 WFM Wilson, Hannah 1835 - FM Sivanandan, Bodhana 2354
20.2 WCM Reifer-Belle, Chanon 1761 - WGM Yao, Lan 2270
20.3 Moore, Gaybrianna 1634 - IM Hunt, Harriet V 2284
20.4 WCM Eversley, Kiarra 1611 - WGM Mirzoeva, Elmira 2181

I note that Guernsey is fielding Gerda Nevska on top board in the Open. It is unusual, but not of course unique to have a female top board. Table 98 features a fine attempt at the "most difficult names to fit on a score-sheet" prize. There must be occasions when teams look at the pairings and think, "Where is that?", but today features an all-Caribbean clash, Dominica and Dominican Republic, which seems to be the nearest thing to a local derby.

It seems a little odd that Uzbekistan are allowed three teams.

I suspect strong round 1 wins for Scotland and Ireland would would see them paired with a top 15 seeded team in round 2, which would be great for Freddie and Tarun alongside their teammates. Who knows, perhaps even an early clash with England!

Kevin Thurlow wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 16, 2026 7:50 am

but today features an all-Caribbean clash, Dominica and Dominican Republic, which seems to be the nearest thing to a local derby.

Although if your metric is "distance between the two capitals", Türkiye v Jordan is slightly closer.

EDIT: Looking down the list, I think San Marino v Bosnia wins the distance prize.

From this point of view alone, it's a shame that there doesn't appear to be a team from the Republic of the Congo to offer a potential derby with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, given the proximity of Brazzaville to Kinshasa.

IM Jack Rudd wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 16, 2026 8:53 am

Although if your metric is "distance between the two capitals", Türkiye v Jordan is slightly closer.

Olympiad matches between Guernsey and Jersey are not unknown. Allegedly arbiters felt these required extra scrutiny.

Links to the England matches on lichess
Open
https://lichess.org/broadcast/46th-fide ... San#boards
Women
https://lichess.org/broadcast/46th-fide ... fxN#boards