New Delhi: The Indian chess team which landed in Samarkand airport in Uzbekistan several hours ago today to participate in the 46th Chess Olympiad is yet to be allotted rooms according to the team’s captain Srinath Narayanan who raised this concern in a post on X.
“Having a terrible experience at the @FIDE_chess 2026 Olympiad. The team landed 5 hours ago at Samarkand airport. The team still haven’t been allotted rooms, with absolutely no clarity on when they’ll be allotted,” Narayanan posted.
India’s Vidit Gujrathi, who is part of the Open team as a reserve, also flagged the delay in a post on X. “Very poor first impressions of the Samarkand, Uzbekistan Olympiad 2026. Still waiting,” he wrote.
ThePrint has reached out to the All India Chess Federation on e-mail. This report will be updated if and when they respond.
The opening ceremony of the 46th Chess Olympiad is today, with the games starting tomorrow, Wednesday. The tournament will continue till 27 September.
Having a terrible experience at the @FIDE_chess 2026 Olympiad.
The team landed 5 hours ago at Samarkand airport. The team still haven’t been allotted rooms, with absolutely no clarity on when it’ll be allotted.
— Srinath Narayanan (@srinathchess) September 15, 2026
India goes into the Olympiad as the defending champion, after winning the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest. India’s open team won 21 match points overtaking both the United States and Uzbekistan, which has managed only 17 points. This was India’s first gold medal in the Open section.
India’s Open team for this 46th Chess Olympiad has Arjun Erigaisi, world champion Gukesh Dommaraju, R Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin, with Vidit Gujrathi as reserve. And for the Women’s team it has World Rapid champion Humpy Koneru, 2024 World Junior champion Divya Deshmukh, R Vaishali, Vantika Agrawal and Savitha Shri B.
The Chess Olympiad is a chess tournament held every two years. This tournament is organised by FIDE (International Chess Federation) and also decides the host nations for the biennial tournaments.
(Edited by Viny Miahra)
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