There are two days to go until round one. Tuesday brings the opening ceremony; on Wednesday, September 16, the teams take their seats. That is when we start checking our phones a little more often.
The latest before the opening
FIDE’s September 13 preview lists 400 teams: 208 in the Open and 192 in the Women’s event, an announced Olympiad record. Serbia departed for Uzbekistan that same day. While we wait for the first pairings, there is already plenty to open our special with. FIDE preview · Serbia’s departure
The venue and the teams
The 46th Chess Olympiad takes place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, at Silk Road EXPO. The Open and Women’s events run alongside each other. Each squad has five players, with four taking part in any one match. Venue · Regulations
You do not need to follow every major tournament to enjoy an Olympiad. Support a country, choose a favourite player, or simply watch one endgame change the calculation on the other three boards.
How the points work
There are 11 Swiss-system rounds: a defeat does not knock a team out. A match win earns two match points, a draw one and a loss none. Both 2½:1½ and 4:0 therefore earn two points for the team. Individual game points still matter in the tiebreaks when teams finish level on match points. Format and scoring
For supporters, that means a draw on one board can be exactly what the team needs. Before asking why someone did not push for a win, check the other positions.
The schedule in Serbian time
All times below are CEST, the time zone in Serbia. Samarkand is three hours ahead.
- September 15: opening ceremony; its start time remained unconfirmed in the official schedule checked on September 14.
- September 16–21, noon: rounds 1–6, one each day.
- September 22: rest day.
- September 23–26, noon: rounds 7–10.
- September 27, 8am: the final, eleventh round, followed by the closing ceremony later that day.
The time control is classical: 90 minutes for 40 moves, then another 30 minutes to finish, with a 30-second increment from move one. Some of the most interesting endgames will reward patient viewers. Time control
Who to follow
India defends both team golds from Budapest 2024. In the Open, FIDE’s preview also highlights the USA, China, Germany and host Uzbekistan, the 2022 Olympiad champion. FIDE’s preview
Our first question, naturally, is how Serbia will fare. The next article looks at the squads, previous achievements and what we hope to see. For round one, we are preparing a practical guide to the broadcasts.
The separate Olympiad for People with Disabilities is already taking place in Samarkand, from September 10 to 17. We follow its results separately from the main Olympiad, which has yet to begin. That event’s official site