Germany Ends Uzbekistan's 7/7 Run in Samarkand

Uzbekistan had won every match so far at the 46th Chess Olympiad, and it took a full family effort to stop them. Germany beat the tournament leaders 2.5-1.5 in round eight, with brothers Frederik and Rasmus Svane delivering the decisive wins on boards three and four against Nodirbek Yakubboev and Shamsiddin Vokhidov.

That result matters more than a single scoreline suggests. Uzbekistan had been out in front since pulling clear of the field earlier in the event, and a 7/7 start against Olympiad-strength opposition is not something teams simply shrug off. Losing to a German side missing nothing in ambition throws the whole top of the standings back into contention with just three rounds left.

Matthias Bluebaum lost on board two to Javokhir Sindarov, who kept his personal unbeaten run going and now sits on 5.5/7. That result alone would have been enough to hand Uzbekistan the match. It was the Svanes’ double on the bottom boards that flipped it, according to Chess.com’s own report on the round.

The final board to finish was Vincent Keymer against Nodirbek Abdusattorov, where Keymer had white but Abdusattorov held the draw with careful defense. Germany’s captain, Jan Gustafsson, reportedly watched the whole match with a book in hand rather than pacing the hall, a small detail that fit the day’s theme of composure winning out over pressure.

Elsewhere at the top, the United States capitalized immediately. Fabiano Caruana beat Alexey Sarana on board one as the USA routed Serbia 3.5-0.5, closing the gap on the leaders in a single afternoon. Caruana’s win came via a rook sacrifice on g7 in a Najdorf with opposite-side castling, trapping Black’s queen after 24.Rxg7 Kxg7 25.Bf5, and he converted the material edge without much resistance.

China needed a response after a defeat the previous round and got a mixed one against Poland. Ding Liren drew quickly with Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and the third and fourth boards were also drawn, but Wei Yi delivered the only decisive result of the match.

Facing Szymon Gumularz, Wei Yi was already an exchange up with two dangerous connected passed pawns near promotion, and rather than take a safe route he played 32…Qxf3, sacrificing his queen to clear the path for the h-pawn.

After 33.Bxf3 Bxf3 34.Kf2 Rf8, White had no defense, and Gumularz resigned following 35.e4 Bd1+ with mate on h1 unavoidable. Wei Yi remains undefeated on 5.5/7.

India, meanwhile, dropped more ground with a 2-2 draw against Azerbaijan, all four games ending level. Vidit returned to the lineup on board four in place of Nihal Sarin after five rounds out, and Gukesh had the best winning chances on board three before a couple of inaccuracies let Muradli hold.

That follows India’s earlier bench troubles at this Olympiad, and another shared match keeps the pressure on with three rounds to go.

The Netherlands and Armenia also split points 2-2. Jorden van Foreest beat Robert Hovhannisyan, handing him his first defeat of the tournament, before Shant Sargsyan leveled the match by defeating Loek van Wely.

In the Women’s section, China took the sole lead with a 2.5-1.5 win over Georgia, helped by Kazakhstan and India settling for a 2-2 draw in the day’s marquee matchup, where Savitha extended her strong individual run for India. Armenia, Mongolia and Uzbekistan all remain firmly in contention as the women’s race tightens alongside the open section with three rounds still to play.

Open standings after Round 8 of 11

#	Team	W–D–L	Match Points	Board Points
1	Uzbekistan	7–0–1	14	24
2	Germany	7–0–1	14	21.5
3	China	6–1–1	13	22
4	Netherlands	6–1–1	13	21.5
5	Azerbaijan	5–3–0	13	22
6	USA	6–1–1	13	21.5
7	India	6–1–1	13	20.5
8	France	5–3–0	13	22
9	Armenia	5–3–0	13	21
10	Uzbekistan 2	6–1–1	13	20.5

Women standings after Round 8 of 11

#	Team	W–D–L	Match Points	Board Points
1	China	7–1–0	15	25
2	Kazakhstan	6–2–0	14	22.5
3	Armenia	7–0–1	14	22.5
4	Mongolia	7–0–1	14	21.5
5	India	6–1–1	13	24
6	Uzbekistan	6–1–1	13	23
7	Greece	6–1–1	13	21
8	France	6–0–2	12	24
9	Bulgaria	6–0–2	12	23.5
10	Georgia	5–2–1	12	22