The Open and the Women’s Olympiad

The Chess Olympiads will take place in the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from 15 till 27 September 2026.

The Olympiad will consist of two sections, Open and Women. Both events will be played over 11 rounds, using the Swiss system, with teams of four players plus one reserve.

Three trophies

There will be three trophies:

The Hamilton-Russell Cup for the winners of the Open section
The Vera Menchik Cup for the winners of the Women section
The Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy for the best combined federation performance across the Open and Women sections

Schedule

The Opening Ceremony will take place on 15 September, while the first round will be played on 16 September. After round six, there will be a day off on 22 September. Round 11 and Closing Ceremony will take place on 27 September.

Team Registration and further information:

The registration for the FIDE Chess Olympiad starts on 20 April 2026.

Participating teams in the Open and Women’s sections are invited to register following the credentials they shall receive to their official federation’s e-mail address.

More information about the FIDE Chess Olympiad can be found here: https://chessolympiad2026.fide.com/.