Samarkand closed the 46th Chess Olympiad with a lavish ceremony featuring fireworks, a captivating drone light show, and an extensive slate of awards at the Amphitheatre of the Eternal City. More than 2,000 guests watched as two weeks of intense competition culminated in a night filled with music, traditional dance, and opera performances.
Ceremony Highlights and Awards
The festivities began around 7 p.m. with category prizes in both the Open and Women’s sections, covering rating groups A through E. The United States (A), Vietnam (B), Ecuador (C), Pakistan (D), and Qatar (E) topped the Open categories. In the Women’s sections, the winners were the United States (A), Croatia (B), Sri Lanka (C), Ghana (D), and Maldives (E). Chief Arbiters Ivan Syrovy and Laurent Freyd oversaw the presentations, ensuring a smooth flow of the evening.
A popular interlude showcased the best team uniforms in classic, sports, and original categories across both sections. Teams from Hong Kong, Jamaica, South Africa, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Mali, and South Africa once again received recognition for their outstanding designs.
Individual board medals followed, honoring the strongest performers on each of the five boards. In the Open event, gold medals were awarded to Nodirbek Abdusattorov (board one), Wei Yi (board two), Frederik Svane (board three), Ihor Samunenkov (board four), and Gleb Dudin (reserve). In the Women’s event, the top performers included Zhu Jiner (board one), Alice Lee (board two), Lu Miaoyi (board three), Elnaz Kaliakhmet (board four), and Savitha Shri B (reserve).
By approximately 8:30 p.m., the primary team awards took center stage. Dignitaries such as Timur Turlov, Viswanathan Anand, and Mahir Mamedov participated in the medal presentations. China emerged victorious in the Women’s Olympiad, lifting the Vera Menchik Cup, while Kazakhstan secured the silver medal and India took bronze. The hosts, Uzbekistan, claimed the Open title and the Hamilton Russell Cup, with India earning silver and Germany bronze. The Gaprindashvili Cup, recognizing the best combined performance across the Open and Women’s events, went to India.
The ceremony also looked ahead to the next edition as the Olympiad flag was passed to the 2028 hosts in the United Arab Emirates. Hussein Abdullah Al-Khoury and Abdulraheem Al Zarooni received the flag from Alisher Sadullayev during the handover segment, which featured stunning images of Abu Dhabi on the venue’s giant screens.
FIDE President Timur Turlov expressed gratitude to Uzbekistan’s leadership and the many governments, federations, and organizers who supported the event, before officially declaring the Olympiad closed. The night concluded with spectacular fireworks and a synchronized drone display over Samarkand, leaving thousands of players, captains, officials, and delegates with lasting memories of the competition and the enchanting city.