Canada on both fronts. Serbia faces Canada in both sections of round three of the Olympiad, following two opening wins for each Serbian team. Aleksandar Inđić returns to the Open line-up and Alina Bivol to the Women’s team; Bojan Maksimović and Sofija Pogorelskih rest.
Round-three schedule: September 18, noon in Serbia (CEST), or 3pm in Samarkand. Official schedule
Open: Canada - Serbia, match 15
Confirmed pairings in board order. Colours refer to Serbia’s players:
- Alexey Sarana (2666), Black - Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux (2536). Game
- Aleksandar Inđić (2598), White - Anthony Atanasov (2481). Game
- Alexandr Predke (2598), Black - Razvan Preotu (2475). Game
- Velimir Ivić (2601), White - Sai Krishna G V (2451). Game
Canada fields three grandmasters and an international master, all rated above 2450. Serbia is higher rated on every board, but the gaps are now between 117 and 150 points. This is a more evenly matched opponent than either of the first two and a good test for the team.
Our picks to follow are Sarana with Black against Rodrigue-Lemieux and Inđić’s return with White. In the confirmed line-up, Inđić plays board two, Predke board three and Ivić board four. Official pairings · Open match broadcast
Meet today’s Canadian opponents
Canada’s Open team is captained by Evgeny Bareev, and today’s four players bring different generations and notable achievements to the boards. Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux, Sarana’s opponent, won the World Under-18 Championship in 2022 and the Francophonie Championship in 2023. FIDE: Rodrigue-Lemieux
Anthony Atanasov, born in 2008, gained his GM title this year; Razvan Preotu has been a grandmaster since 2016. Canadian federation: titles Sai Krishna G V scored 7/9 at the Canadian Championship in April 2026, the same total as Rodrigue-Lemieux and Atanasov. There is no easy point waiting on board four either. Championship results
Women: Canada - Serbia, match 13
- Teodora Injac (2406), Black - Maili-Jade Ouellet (2260). Game
- Alina Bivol (2345), White - Yunshan Li (2228). Game
- Elif Mehmed (2316), Black - Svitlana Demchenko (2166). Game
- Jovana Srdanović (2298), White - Oksana Golubeva (2086). Game
Serbia’s women enter this round with eight wins from eight games. Canada presents much smaller rating gaps than Madagascar and Scotland: Serbia’s advantages range from 117 to 212 points. We particularly look forward to Bivol’s return and the games of Injac and Mehmed with Black.
We expect a battle for a third team victory. Another 4:0 would be excellent, but any match win would preserve Serbia’s perfect match-point score. Official pairings · Women’s match broadcast
Canada’s women: champions and another perfect start
Maili-Jade Ouellet won the women’s title at the 2023 Francophonie Championship. FIDE On boards two and three are Yunshan Li and Svitlana Demchenko, gold and silver medallists at the 2025 Canadian Championship: both scored 7/9, with tiebreaks deciding the title. FIDE: Canadian Championship Oksana Golubeva finished eighth in that event with 6/9. Final standings
Captain Raja Panjwani’s team also began with two 4:0 wins, against Kosovo and Wales. Today’s match therefore brings together two teams that did not drop even half a board point in the opening two rounds. Canada’s first round · Canada’s second round
Missed yesterday’s games? Find every result and replay link in our round-two report.