USA Top Seed Without Nakamura As India Prepares Olympiad Double-Gold Defense

The USA is again missing GM Hikaru Nakamura for the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad, but with GMs Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, and Hans Niemann, it remains the top-ranked team in the Open section. Defending champion India, host nation Uzbekistan, and 2018 winner China follow close behind in what looks like a four-horse race. India is also the favorite in the Women’s section, while China’s omission of their stars is the biggest surprise.

The biennial Chess Olympiad, which takes place this year in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on September 16-27, is one of the biggest and most celebrated tournaments on the chess calendar. The lineups for 2026 have just been released and show 208 teams registered for the Open section, an increase of 13 compared to 2024. In the Women’s section, there are 192 teams, making a total of 400 teams—20 more than in Budapest.

Among the 1971 players competing in the two tournaments, 233 are GMs, and 214 are IMs. The board order is not yet finalized and could still change until the very start of the event.

After going through the team lists, we have collected nine talking points.

1. Carlsen, Nakamura, Firouzja Are The Biggest Absentees
2. The U.S. Is Still The Top Seed, But Not By Much
3. India’s Champions Change Only One Name
4. Ding Liren Returns
5. The Olympiad Could Be A World Championship Preview
6. The Kids And Legends Are Everywhere
7. China’s Strongest Women Stay Away
8. India’s Women Change Two Players And Remains Favorites
9. Belarus Returns, While Russia Remains Out

Top 20 Open Teams: 2026 FIDE Chess Olympiad

Full team list at Chess-Results

Top 20 Women’s Teams: 2026 FIDE Chess Olympiad

Full team list at Chess-Results

1. Carlsen, Nakamura, Firouzja Are The Biggest Absentees

Before we get to the big names competing in Samarkand, we have to talk about the missing top-10 players. The biggest one of them is of course world number-one GM Magnus Carlsen, who is absent from the Norwegian team.

That’s a huge blow for Norway, which would be a medal contender after finishing fifth in 2016. Now that Carlsen and GM Aryan Tari are both missing, Norway, with GM Johan-Sebastian Christiansen, are seeded just 21st.

It didn’t come as a big surprise that GM Alireza Firouzja is not competing for France, which he hasn’t done since 2021. However, the French Chess Federation’s public statement about his absence this time surely raised some eyebrows. The federation said the 23-year-old declined to play “without officially stating his reasons,” and said he would not be included again for France unless he demonstrated a lasting commitment to the national team.

Nakamura, still third in the world, is again not part of the top-seeded U.S. lineup, which is also not a surprise given that he skipped this event in 2024. On his stream, the 38-year-old expressed that he was unhappy with the financial conditions, but also added that he wants to give younger players an opportunity to play.

🇺🇸 Hikaru Nakamura: “We are one decade later and the amount of money you get is exactly the same”

Hikaru Nakamura on why he won’t play in the 2026 Olympiad:

“The offer to play the Olympiad was $10,000. Or sorry, $10,500 I believe is what it was. The bonus if you win a gold… pic.twitter.com/JnscizVzte

— Endgame AI (@EndgameaiChess) June 9, 2026

In the Women’s section, it’s worth noting that Ukraine is missing the GM sisters, Anna Muzychuk and Mariya Muzychuk, as well as GM Natalia Zhukova. 

2. The U.S. Is Still The Top Seed, But Not By Much

Even without Nakamura, the U.S., with GMs Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Levon Aronian, Hans Niemann, and Awonder Liang, remains the top-ranked team. Niemann and Liang will make their first U.S. appearances in the Olympiad, replacing GMs Leinier Dominguez and Ray Robson from the 2024 team. 

Their average rating of 2751 puts them 18 points ahead of defending champion India. Uzbekistan is next, 13 points behind, while China trails the Americans by 45 points, making these the only teams with an average rating above 2700.

We all know there’s more to it than just rating. In a competition as tense as the Olympiad, team chemistry, board order, form, and competitiveness over the grueling 11 rounds may play a bigger role than the small differences between the four leading averages.

3. India’s Champions Change Only One Name

India has retained four of the members from the team that dominated in Budapest. Back then, World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju won the individual gold medal on board one by scoring a stunning 9/10 and a 3056 rating performance to almost hit 2800. Since then, however, he has had a dreadful run of bad performances to drop almost 100 points to 2703 and 31st in the world. Now the question remains whether the 20-year-old can regain his form in time.

The three others on Team India are GMs Arjun Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, and Vidit Gujrathi, while Nihal Sarin is replacing 40-year-old Pentala Harikrishna, leaving the average age of the team below 24. 

It would not be a sensation if India wins another gold medal with that powerhouse lineup, and would make India the first team since Armenia, which won in both 2006 and 2008, to successfully defend the Open Olympiad title. Repeating the manner of its 2024 triumph, however, is another matter. India won 10 matches and drew just one in Budapest, a near-flawless performance that felt almost untouchable—and one that will be extraordinarily difficult to reproduce.

4. Ding Liren Returns For China

China’s former World Champion Ding Liren hasn’t been as active since losing his title to Gukesh, but this summer he’s been slowly returning to action. In June, he was a part of Dragon Chilling that won both the Rapid and Blitz in the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Team Championship in Hong Kong.

He also scored 3.5/5 in the Chinese Chess League and 4/5 in the Chinese Team Chess Championship, performances that earned him a spot in the Total Chess World Championship Pilot.

Ding is no longer China’s highest-ranked player, with that distinction now belonging to world number-11, GM Wei Yi. Along with former top-10 player GM Yu Yangyi, China has an experienced core: all three were members of the Chinese teams that won Olympiad gold in Tromso 2014 and Batumi in 2018. 

There is greater uncertainty lower down the lineup, where GMs Xu Xiangyu (2629) and 17-year-old GM Kong Xiangrui (2549) will face much tougher opposition. But if Ding, Wei, and Yu perform near their best, China has the strength to fight for gold again.

5. The Olympiad Could Be A World Championship Preview

Gukesh will defend his title against GM Javokhir Sindarov in Geneva, Switzerland from November 25 to December 15, less than two months after the Olympiad ends, so this is likely the last time they meet in person before the match. At 20 years old, they will contest the youngest world championship match in history.

Sindarov was a part of the Uzbek team that sensationally won Olympiad gold in 2022, and followed it with bronze in 2024. Now he heads an even stronger Uzbek team, having taken over from GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov‘s position as the nation’s highest-rated player. 

While Sindarov is likely to be on board one, it’s less clear which board Gukesh will be on as India’s fourth-ranked player, so they may not meet directly. But an India-Uzbekistan match will still provide a fascinating preview of the pressure surrounding their later world title contest. 

6. The Kids And Legends Are Everywhere

For most countries, it would raise a few eyebrows if a selected player hasn’t even reached his teens. However, it’s not a surprise to see 12-year-old GM-elect Faustino Oro make his debut for Argentina. The world’s second youngest grandmaster of all time will see his title finally confirmed during the Olympiad.

Turkiye’s GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus is already the nation’s highest-rated player by far. The 15-year-old is up to 2716 and world number-27, overtaking Gukesh as the world’s highest-rated junior.

In the Women’s section, 11-year-old FM Bodhana Sivanandan returns after becoming the youngest to ever feature for England in an Olympiad at nine. It would not be a surprise if Bodhana plays on first board, ahead of WGM Lan Yao, IM Jovanka Houska, IM Harriet Hunt, and WGM Elmira Mirzoeva, all more than twice her age.

Oro, Erdogmus, and Sivanandan may be the most recognizable prodigies, but they are not the youngest players competing in Samarkand. Among those younger is 2016-born Vedant Shetty, St. Vincent & the Grenadines’ top-ranked player in the Open. The youngest player in the entire Olympiad, however, appears to be Jessica Kobeissey, born in 2017, who plays for Lebanon’s women’s team.

On the other end of the scale, we also have a parade of legends competing. GMs Vasyl Ivanchuk and Ruslan Ponomariov play again for Ukraine, while GMs Peter Leko (Hungary), Loek van Wely (Netherlands) and Alexei Shirov (Spain) are all back at the event to the joy of their many fans. 

In the Women’s section, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk competes for Switzerland, while GM Elisabeth Paehtz returns for Germany after maternity leave. And don’t forget 63-year-old GM Pia Cramling, who plays her 15th Chess Olympiad!

7. China’s Strongest Women Stay Away

The four highest-rated women in the world are all from China, but only their fourth-ranked player GM Zhu Jiner is featuring for their Olympiad team. 

Women’s World Champion GM Ju Wenjun, former world champion GM Tan Zhongyi and world-title challenger GM Lei Tingjie, and the more inactive world number-one GM Hou Yifan are not included. The team is completed by IM Song Yuxin, IM Lu Miaoyi, WIM Zhai Mo, and WGM Yan Tianqi.

Zhu is the star of the team, while Song and Lu are two promising young players who will want to show their best at this level. Even so, it is striking that China can omit three world championship-level players and remain among the top-three seeds.

8. India’s Women Change Two Players And Remains Favorites

India has made more changes to its Women’s team than to its Open champions. GM Koneru Humpy returns to join GMs Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, IM Vantika Agrawal, and IM Savitha Shri. That means GM Harika Dronavalli and IM Tania Sachdev, who both played in the gold-medal team in Budapest, are absent.

The changes have not affected India’s position as the top seed. With an average rating of 2476, they are 27 points higher than second-seeded Georgia, with China, Kazakhstan, and the U.S. completing the top five.

Humpy brings decades of experience and remains one of the strongest women in the world. Savitha represents the rising generation and will make her Olympiad debut, while Divya has developed into a top-10 player since winning individual and team gold in Budapest.

India’s team may be even more dangerous on paper than the one that won gold in 2024.

9. Belarus Returns, While Russia Remains Out

Belarus will compete under its national flag after FIDE last month lifted the restrictions that had required Belarusian players and teams to use neutral symbols. FIDE stated that the Samarkand Olympiad would be one of the first major events affected by that decision.

GM Denis Lazavik heads a team with three grandmasters, ranked 41st in the event.

However, no Russian team will take part in Samarkand as the Chess Federation of Russia (CFR) was suspended after refusing to follow a verdict by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that ordered them to cease organizing chess activities in the occupied Ukrainian territories.

The FIDE Council nevertheless left open the possibility that a team composed of Russian citizens could participate under a neutral flag, subject to a further Council decision. No such team appears on the current lists.

The former chess giant, no longer with any players among the world’s top 20, remains out of the biggest chess event of the year for the third time.

The 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan is bound to be an unforgettable event, so don’t miss all the action and coverage on Chess.com on September 16-27!