India Claim Olympiad Silver, Bronze and Third Straight Trophy

India ended the 2026 Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, with silver in the open section, bronze in the women’s section and a third consecutive Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy as the competition’s best overall team. The result meant India did not retain the twin gold medals won in Budapest two years earlier, but the country still completed a notable hat-trick in the overall-team award.

India are now the only side besides Russia to have produced such a sustained run in the Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy. Russia won the award four editions in succession from 1998 to 2004, while India’s third straight success underlined the combined strength of its open and women’s squads despite the disappointment of missing out on both team titles.

Former Indian Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay described the final outcome as disappointing in light of the teams’ seedings, with India second seeds in the open competition and top seeds in the women’s event. He also urged a measured view of expectations around the national sides.

“The result was a bit disappointing,” Thipsay said. “In the open section, India were second seeds, in women they were top seeds. So somewhere in both sections we’ve not done well.”

Savitha Shri’s unbeaten run leads women’s highlights

The women’s team had four of its five players win individual medals, although the group did not consistently click as a unit during the matches. Koneru Humpy earned bronze on top board, while Vantika Agarwal also took bronze on Board 4. Divya Deshmukh returned with an individual silver medal.

The standout Indian performance came from Savitha Shri on the reserve board. The young International Master went on a seven-match winning run and finished unbeaten with nine points from 10 matches to secure individual gold. Her tournament included a crucial final-round recovery against Georgia, where she fought back from a losing position to draw and help India salvage the women’s bronze medal.

Thipsay praised Savitha’s ability to compete in difficult positions, calling her a practical and natural player. “She is a street fighter,” he said. He compared her run to Gukesh Dommaraju’s top-board display for India 2 at the 2022 Olympiad, when Gukesh won eight matches in a row, and identified Savitha as a player to watch over the next two years.

Savitha’s score was the strongest among the listed Indian women’s performances. Humpy scored seven points in 10 matches, Divya 6.5 in 10, Vantika six in eight and Vaishali Rameshbabu 2.5 in six.

Vaishali endured the most difficult tournament among the leading women’s players. The women’s world championship challenger managed one win in six matches on Board 2 and recorded an average performance rating of 2197. Thipsay said her form and inconsistency remained a concern, while adding that her trainers were working to help her find a way forward.

Gukesh delivers individual silver for the open team

For the open side, Gukesh provided an encouraging return, winning individual silver on Board 4 with 8.5 points from 11 matches. His record included seven wins, one draw and three losses. Thipsay said the Olympiad had helped the world champion gain confidence ahead of the world championship later in the year, despite a final-round defeat to a comparatively lower-rated opponent.

R Praggnanandhaa scored 6.5 points from 10 matches, Nihal Sarin six from 10 and Arjun Erigaisi 5.5 from 10. Vidit Gujrathi played three games and scored two points. Together, their efforts took India to open-team silver, while the women’s bronze and the overall trophy ensured Samarkand still produced a significant collective result for Indian chess.