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46th FIDE Chess Olympiad 2026
Yesterday was the rest day at the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand after six gruelling rounds of classical chess.
Kenya’s Open team currently has 3 match points out of a possible 6, ranking 102, up from their starting seed of 126.
The Women’s team also has 3 points but has dropped from 93 to 105 due to tie‑breaks.
At the top of the standings, Uzbekistan leads the Open section while China leads the Women’s section—both with a perfect 6/6 score.
We are just past the halfway mark of this 11‑round marathon. The championship is being played in a Swiss format with one round per day.
Chess at Olympiad Level Is Brutal
Each game is a marathon: 40 moves in 90 minutes, plus 30 minutes added, plus 30 seconds per move from move 1. A single match can last over six hours!
One of the longest games so far was between Ali Elier (Libya) and Jaloliddin Ilkhomi (Tajikistan)—a 139‑move battle, with 115 moves played in the endgame. It finally ended in a draw after 50 moves with no capture or pawn move, triggering the automatic draw rule.
Kenya’s Open Team Highlights
Kenya’s first match in the Open was against Argentina, seeded 28th. Their board 2 player, Diego Flores, has equalled Miguel Najdorf’s record of eight national championship titles. Despite his pedigree, he struggled to overcome our rising star Jadon Simiyu, who has been in excellent form.
Team Strategy Explained Simply
- Boards 1 & 2 = Defence. They face the strongest opponents, so even a draw counts as a big win.
- Boards 3 & 4 = Attack. They take more risks to secure match victories.
Jadon, playing on board 2, has 4 points from 6 games, making him—if we borrow a football analogy—a striking defender.
Robert Mcligeyo and Ben Magana, on boards 3 and 4 respectively, each have 3 points from 5 games.
Big Upsets
- Jadon Simiyu (2166) defeated Tom Middleburg (2344) of New Zealand in a positional masterpiece. (Player ratings are shown in brackets. Higher numbers mean stronger players.)
- Kuka Kyle (2012) held Chris Garzon (2305) of Ecuador to a draw in a beautifully played rook endgame.
Kenya Women Shock Norway!
The biggest headline came from the Women’s team: Kenya (ranked 93) defeated Norway (ranked 46)—yes, the same Norway that produced Magnus Carlsen!
Board-by-board heroics
- Sasha Mongeli (1928) defeated Ellen Hagesather (2155) in a bishop‑and‑pawns endgame.
- Nicole Albright (1770) produced the move of the day with a stunning rook sacrifice in her game against Nina Hagesather (2008) in move 36:
Black has just played 35…a5? The position looks harmless at first, but Black’s king is vulnerable. If White’s knight can reach e6, it will fork the king and the rook on c7. However, the bishop on f7 and rook on e8 both defend e6, so White must first remove those defenders…but how?
Solution:
36.Rdd5!! Brilliant move!
This forced Black to give up the key defenders. After the sequence:
36…exd5
37.Rxe8 Bxe8
38.Ne6+ Kf7
39.Nxc7
White would emerge with two extra pawns and a winning endgame. Instead Black tried a desperate rook sacrifice, but Nicole converted comfortably.
Jully Mutisya (1800) on board 3 drew her game versus Monika Machlik (2100) completing Kenya’s 2.5-1.5 match win against Norway.
Games continue this afternoon with round 7.
You can find the schedule on the official website here: Official Website
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