In a day full of miracles and turnarounds, Uzbekistan has regained sole lead of the 46th Chess Olympiad 2026 after beating the U.S. in round nine. GM Wesley So beat World Championship Challenger Javokhir Sindarov, but the Nodirbeks won on boards one and three. GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov beat GM Fabiano Caruana and GM Nodirbek Yakubboev defeated GM Hans Niemann, with a draw on board four. There are three teams a point behind: India (after beating Germany 2.5-1.5), Uzbekistan 2 remarkably (after upsetting the Netherlands 3.5-0.5), and Armenia (after scoring 2.5-1.5 against Azerbaijan). 

China leads the 2026 FIDE Women's Chess Olympiad by two points after GM Zhu Jiner and IM Lu Miaoyi gained revenge over Armenia for a loss at the 2024 Olympiad. China's job isn't done yet, as it faces defending champion India in Saturday's penultimate round, with GM Divya Deshmukh and IM Vantika Agrawal having given India a 3-1 win over Uzbekistan. Kazakhstan and Mongolia are also tied for second after making a 2-2 draw where only a late win for IM Alua Nurman saved Kazakhstan. 

Round 10 is on Saturday, September 26, starting at 6:15 a.m. ET / 12:15 CEST / 3:45 p.m. IST.

Open: Uzbekistan Is Back On Track For Gold

Uzbekistan convincingly defeated the top seed in round nine, but there were developments in the top four matches.

Round 9 Results | Open Top 10

Two Uzbek teams are in the top four as we head into the last two days of the tournament. 

Open Standings After Round 8: Top 20

GM Rafael Leitao analyzes the Game of the Day below.

Women: China Take 2-Point Lead Into Clash With India 

India and China scored big wins in round nine, while some of their key rivals were held to ties.

China has opened up a two-point lead over India, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan.

Women's Standings After Round 9: Top 20

Colin McGourty contributed to this report.

The 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad is a massive team event for national federations that takes place every two years. In 2026 it's being held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, with 11 rounds that run September 16-27. In Open and Women's sections, teams of five players compete in a Swiss system, with each match played over four boards. There are two match points for a win and one for a draw, with board points taken into account only if teams are tied. Players have 90 minutes per game, plus 30 minutes from move 40, with a 30-second increment per move.