Chess · Worth knowing

Uzbekistan claimed their second Olympiad title by winning the Open section of the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, narrowly defeating Ukraine 2.5-1.5 in the final round to edge out India, who took silver ahead of Germany. China dominated the Women's section, securing gold with 20 match points after a convincing 3-1 victory over Vietnam in the final round, while Kazakhstan claimed silver and India bronze. Individual standouts included GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov leading the Open Board 1 rankings, GM Wei Yi excelling on Board 2, and in the Women's section GM Zhu Jiner topping Board 1 rankings. The tournament featured strong performances across rating categories, with the USA winning the top-rated section in both Open and Women's divisions, while emerging teams like Vietnam, Ecuador, Pakistan and Qatar earned medals in their respective rating tiers.

Bodhana Sivanandan, just 11 years old, became the youngest Woman Grandmaster in chess history after achieving her third WGM norm at the Women's Olympiad in Samarkand. Playing on top board for England with a rating of 2354, she scored eight points across eleven rounds, holding her own against world-class opponents including European Women's Champion Anastasiia Hnatyshyn and GM Nana Dzagnidze, while suffering only one defeat to Peru's Deysi Cori. Her performance led England to 15th place, five positions higher than their seeded ranking, surpassing the previous record held by Kateryna Lagno, who achieved the WGM title at age twelve in 2002. Sivanandan's path to chess began unexpectedly during the pandemic when a visitor left a chessboard at her parents' home, after which she taught herself largely through YouTube tutorials and has since won the European Schools Chess Championship and become the youngest British national champion.