Poland's Rollercoaster Ends in Gold at Samarkand

Poland went from a round-one loss to an undefeated title run, claiming gold at the 3rd FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities in Samarkand. The seven-round event drew a record 41 teams, and it closed with Poland on 13 match points, Cuba taking silver on 12, and hosts Uzbekistan 1 claiming bronze on 11.

The final round settled nothing dramatically at the top since Poland had already done the hard work earlier in the week. They beat the Philippines 3½–½, with IM Marcin Molenda drawing Menandro Redor on board one while IM Pawel Piekielny, IM Aleksander Czerwonski, and Julia Salamon all won to seal the title.

The podium fight below them was tighter. Cuba beat the Czech Republic 2½–1½ to lock up silver, and Uzbekistan 1 edged Israel by the identical 2½–1½ scoreline to take bronze in front of their home crowd.

Poland’s path there was anything but smooth. Captain Molenda described it afterward: “It was definitely a rollercoaster. The first round, losing the points. After that, winning every single match. So, I’m quite happy, especially with the team, since we managed to pull this off.”

That single opening-round loss is the detail that makes six straight wins afterward mean something, as this Chess Herald piece noted when Poland first surged to the top of the standings mid-event.

Cuba’s own campaign had looked untouchable for a stretch before Poland caught them, a shift covered here as Cuba’s unbeaten run came to an end. By the closing ceremony, that early Cuban dominance had been overtaken, though silver still marked a strong finish for a squad that had once carried a perfect record deep into a field that nearly doubled in size from the previous edition.

What made this edition different from the first two runnings wasn’t just the record 41 teams. For the first time, the Olympiad for People with Disabilities was staged in the same city and same window as the main FIDE Chess Olympiad, letting participants walk from their own closing rounds straight into the Expo and the atmosphere of the open competition.

Molenda pointed to that shift directly: “Historically, we were playing some separate events. So right now, being with all the top players, grandmasters and also the world champions as well, is very important for us.”

Individual honors went across all five boards. FM Sargis Sargissyan of the IPCA topped board one, Piekielny and Czerwonski added board medals for Poland, Darry Bernardo of the Philippines won board four, and Michal Racis of the IBCA took board five.

For the hosts, the standout story was Selbi Kakishova, who won six of seven games on board five to earn individual silver while helping Uzbekistan 1 to team bronze. “All the games were so hard and difficult, but despite that, I gave all my strength, and that’s why we won,” she said, adding that the concurrent opening ceremony of the main Olympiad had given her extra motivation.

The final day also brought visitors from outside the field. GM David Navara and Prague Chess Festival organiser Petr Boleslav stopped by to meet participants, and Ukrainian grandmaster Vasyl Ivanchuk spent time at the event as well.

FIDE Interim President Viswanathan Anand, who had made the ceremonial first move of round seven, closed the week by congratulating the winners at the evening’s medal ceremony, which mixed music and dance with the presentation of team, board, and special prizes.