Samarkand R10 (women): Kazakhstan close the gap

by Martina Gerdts
9/27/2026 – In the penultimate round, China and Kazakhstan ensured that there will still be plenty at stake on the final day of the Women's Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. China drew with India, while Kazakhstan defeated France 2½–1½. China remain in sole first place, but their lead over Kazakhstan has been reduced to a single point. China have 18/20 match points, while Kazakhstan are on 17. India, Poland and Vietnam (on 16/20) still have a chance to win the event. | Photo: Michal Walusza / FIDE
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China held to a draw

In round ten, China faced India. Zhu Jiner and Humpy Koneru drew on board one, as did Song Yuxin and Divya Deshmukh on board two. On board three, Lu Miaoyi defeated Vantika Agrawal, while on board four, Indian talent Savitha Shri beat Zhai Mo.

China's draw means that their rivals still have chances to win the tournament. Kazakhstan could still overtake China in the final round, while India, Poland and Vietnam can still catch them. Had China won, only Kazakhstan would have retained a chance of catching them.

Zhu Jiner has the best tournament performance among the board-one players going into the final round. With 6/8, she has a performance rating of 2620. India's Savitha Shri continues to perform superbly on the reserve board. With 8½/9, she has a tournament performance rating of 2629, currently the highest in the women's section!

Zhu Jiner and Humpy drew on board 1 | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE

Kazakhstan very much in the race for the title

Bibisara Assaubayeva wins for Kazakhstan | Photo: Michal Walusza / FIDE

China's stumble in round ten helped Kazakhstan. Bibisara Assaubayeva defeated Deimante Daulyte-Cornette of France on board one. Kazakhstan won the match by a 2½-1½ overall score. With this team victory, Kazakhstan strengthened their podium chances and now have the opportunity to overtake China in the final round.

The move 22...Qe6? invited 23.Rd6, while 22...Re2 would have provided activity. After 23...Qf5 24.Rad1 Rb4, Assaubayeva exchanged material on d7 until she reached a winning endgame with two minor pieces and a rook against two rooks.

Black resigned after move 34.

France's Sophie Milliet scored the team's only win in the match. She had the black pieces against Meruert Kamalidenova.

Alua Nurman drew on board two. After ten rounds, she has 7 points from 9 appearances, having sat out only one game so far. The international master has achieved a tournament performance rating of 2534.

The chances for India, Poland and Vietnam

Poland defeated Mongolia 3-1, Vietnam beat Indonesia 2½-1½, and India remain with the group behind China and Kazakhstan. With 15/18 match points, India, Poland and Vietnam are the only chasing teams behind the two frontrunners that can still catch China on match points in the final round. In that case, tiebreak criteria would decide the outcome.

Poland secured victory over Mongolia with two wins and two draws. Oliwia Kiolbasa drew with Bat-Erdene Mungunzul on board one. Aleksandra Maltsevskaya and Alicja Sliwicka scored the two decisive points for the Polish team. Klaudia Kulon drew against Khishigbaatar Bayasgalan. Team Poland did not suffer a single defeat in round ten.

Poland will face Kazakhstan in the final round. They therefore have the chance to stop Kazakhstan themselves and potentially overtake China. If China lose, China, Vietnam and Poland could all finish level at the top of the standings.

With their 3-1 victory over Mongolia, Poland can still draw level with China |
Photo: Michal Walusza / FIDE

After Indonesia defeated Germany in round nine, they faced Vietnam on Saturday. Vietnam won 2½-1½ thanks to victories by Thi Kim Phung Vo and Phuong Hanh Luong. Their biggest challenge awaits in the final round, when they face China.

In the final round, China will face Vietnam, while Poland will play Kazakhstan. India are the only one of the leading teams whose opponents are no longer in contention for first place.

England no longer have any title chances. After round ten, they are in 21st place with 13 points. However, Bodhana Sivanandan, the 11-year-old prodigy in the English team, has already fulfilled the requirements for her next WGM norm! Bodhana has been producing excellent performances at the Olympiad.

Two rounds before the end of the tournament, 11-year-old Bodhana Sivanandan (ENG) had fulfilled the requirements for her next WGM norm | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE

Standings after round 10

Rg. SNr Team Games + = - TB1 TB2 TB3 TB4
1 4
China 10 8 2 0 18 376 30 132
2 3
Kazakhstan 10 7 3 0 17 326 27 129
3 1
India 10 7 2 1 16 363,5 29 133
4 9
Poland 10 8 0 2 16 319 26,5 131
5 21
Vietnam 10 8 0 2 16 298 27,5 118
6 5
United States of America 10 7 1 2 15 334,5 29,5 122
7 13
Uzbekistan 10 7 1 2 15 319,5 27,5 126
8 2
Georgia 10 6 3 1 15 313 26,5 128
9 16
Armenia 10 7 1 2 15 300 25,5 129
10 23
Romania 10 7 1 2 15 293 28,5 110
11 25
Slovenia 10 7 1 2 15 276,5 27,5 114
12 15
Mongolia 10 7 1 2 15 276 24,5 126
13 24
Greece 10 6 3 1 15 259 25 116
14 8
France 10 7 0 3 14 313,5 28 120
15 11
Bulgaria 10 7 0 3 14 305 26,5 126
16 35
Indonesia 10 7 0 3 14 269 26 116
17 26
Turkiye 10 6 2 2 14 260 25 114
18 77
Sri Lanka 10 7 0 3 14 246,5 27 102
19 19
Spain 10 6 2 2 14 245 24 112
20 31
Latvia 10 7 0 3 14 222 23 111
21 20
England 10 6 1 3 13 298 28 114
22 30
Iran 10 6 1 3 13 286 26,5 119
23 7
Azerbaijan 10 6 1 3 13 285,5 25,5 124
24 41
Estonia 10 6 1 3 13 279 28 109
25 12
Netherlands 10 5 3 2 13 270 24,5 122
26 17
Switzerland 10 5 3 2 13 269 25,5 116
27 14
Serbia 10 5 3 2 13 261,5 25 114
28 42
Philippines 10 6 1 3 13 260 26 111
29 28
Argentina 10 6 1 3 13 253,5 25 111
30 39
Peru 10 6 1 3 13 253 25,5 113

...189 teams

All games - Round 10

Replay all games on Live.ChessBase.com

<< Samarkand R10 (open): Uzbekistan enter final round with one-point lead over India
Topics: Chess Olympiad 2026
Martina Gerdts studied Portuguese and Spanish linguistics and nowadays teaches language classes and writes about chess and languages. Having started playing chess for a tournament trip to Paris, she is now active not only as a player but in a diverse range of activities connected to chess. This includes among others teaching chess classes, writing about chess and being active as an arbiter.
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Samarkand R10 (open): Uzbekistan enter final round with one-point lead over India

9/26/2026 – Uzbekistan will enter the final round of the Chess Olympiad with a one-point lead after beating Armenia 3½–½ in round ten. India remain their closest challengers following a clear victory over Uzbekistan 2, while Germany, Ukraine and Hungary are two points back. Ukraine will face the hosts directly on Sunday, with India meeting Hungary and Germany taking on the Netherlands. The decisive round will begin four hours earlier than usual, at 8.00 CEST. | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE

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