Wesley So names Uzbekistan favourite for Chess Olympiad gold

US grandmaster Wesley So has named Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov as his favourite to win the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. He pointed to the hosts’ strong line-up and home advantage as reasons they may be harder to beat than the top-seeded United States.

So made the assessment after his victory in round three, saying the US still have a powerful team but face a much tougher field than in previous Olympiads. He also noted the continued absence of Hikaru Nakamura, who has not represented the US at the event since 2018.

Uzbekistan entered the home Olympiad third in the starting order behind the US and defending champions India. Its first team features Sindarov, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Nodirbek Yakubboev, Shamsiddin Vokhidov and Mukhiddin Madaminov, with former world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov as captain.

So sees home advantage for Sindarov

So singled out Sindarov and the hosts’ motivation in particular. Uzbekistan are trying to reclaim the title they won in Chennai in 2022 after taking bronze in Budapest two years later.

The case for Uzbekistan is also stronger than it was at those tournaments. Sindarov won the Candidates Tournament earlier this year and is due to challenge reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju for the world title later in 2026. Abdusattorov gives the hosts another elite player on board two.

So was more pessimistic about his team. ‘A number of US players were not in their best shape,’ said the grandmaster, adding that the level of Olympiad competition had increased significantly overall. The American line-up still includes Fabiano Caruana, So, Hans Niemann and Levon Aronian.

Read more: Caruana, So and Sindarov headline Chess Olympiad in Samarkand

So also praised China as a particularly dangerous team, given how its players train and prepare together. But when asked to identify the main favourite, he settled on the hosts.

The 46th Chess Olympiad runs in Samarkand until 27 September and features a record 400 teams across the open and women’s competitions.