Uzbekistan Retake Sole Lead at Chess Olympiad

Uzbekistan moved back into sole first place in the Chess Olympiad open section with a 2½–1½ victory over the top-seeded United States. The round-nine result restored the hosts’ lead a day after Germany handed them their first match defeat of the tournament. With two rounds left in Samarkand, Uzbekistan have 16 of a possible 18 match points; India, Armenia and Uzbekistan’s second team are all on 15.

The match was decided by the two Uzbek players named Nodirbek. Abdusattorov defeated Fabiano Caruana on board one, and Yakubboev beat Hans Niemann on board three. The United States scored through Wesley So, who defeated Javokhir Sindarov on board two. Levon Aronian and Mukhiddin Madaminov drew on board four. Together, the results gave Uzbekistan the narrow team win they needed to regain outright control of the standings.

Caruana’s game was close for a long time. He appeared to have the position under control, but declined an opportunity to exchange a pair of rooks. That decision led to a double-rook endgame in which Abdusattorov eventually made his chances count. The Uzbek remained unbeaten after nine rounds, with seven points from his games, and the win kept him in the running for an individual board medal as well as strengthening his team’s gold challenge.

Yakubboev’s win came after a long struggle against Niemann. The American gave up a piece for three pawns and hoped the material balance would provide enough compensation in the endgame. Yakubboev contained the threats and converted the advantage. His victory proved decisive after So had cut the United States’ deficit by beating Sindarov, who suffered his first loss of the Olympiad. Uzbekistan had also relied on the two Nodirbeks for key points in its round-seven match against China; in round nine, they again supplied the wins that separated the teams.

The leading group tightened behind Uzbekistan. India kept its gold hopes alive by beating Germany 2½–1½, with the first three boards drawn and Gukesh scoring the deciding point against Alexander Donchenko on board four. Donchenko had been pressing, but complications turned in Gukesh’s favour. The world champion remained unbeaten on 7½ points from nine games, while India reached 15 match points.

Uzbekistan 2 produced the round’s largest win, defeating sixth-seeded Netherlands 3½–½. Jakhongir Vakhidov beat Anish Giri, Mukhammadzokhid Suyarov defeated Loek van Wely, and Ortik Nigmatov scored against Erwin l’Ami; Jorden van Foreest drew with Abdimalik Abdisalimov. The second Uzbek team, seeded 30th, also reached 15 match points and third place on tiebreaks. The hosts therefore had two teams among the top three after nine rounds.

Armenia joined India and Uzbekistan 2 on 15 points by beating Azerbaijan 2½–1½. Gabriel Sargissian’s board-four win decided that match after the other three games were drawn, keeping Armenia unbeaten. Elsewhere, France and China drew all four boards, leaving both on 14 points alongside Germany, Spain, Ukraine and Hungary. Spain beat Czechia 3–1, Ukraine edged Georgia 2½–1½, and Hungary defeated Austria 3–1.

The next round brings a direct test for the leaders: Uzbekistan face Armenia, while India meet Uzbekistan 2. Those pairings put first place and the medal race under immediate pressure. Uzbekistan have the advantage of a one-point lead, but three teams are close enough to overtake them with a single round’s results. The hosts’ victory over the United States restored their position at the top; the penultimate round will show whether they can hold it into the finish.

Sources

• ChessBase: Samarkand R9 (open): Uzbekistan retake sole lead after beating the US
• FIDE: Olympiad Day 9: Uzbekistan takes a giant step towards gold