2026 Chess Olympiad Day 1

 I am in Samarkand at the 2026 Chess Olympiad, so I figured I should post some updates as I go. 

As you might be aware from the headlines in the chess media there were/are issues with transport and accommodation. I can confirm by and large these reports are accurate.  The organisers seemed to be overwhelmed by the arrival of chess players (in Tashkent and Samarkand), although one would have thought they new we were coming. As a result the Tashkent Railway station was awash with players who had been told they had bookings, but found they did not have tickets. This issue was eventually resolved by handing out tickets to teams that made the most noise. Unfortunately the main PNG team had to wait 5 hours for a train, which deposited them in Samarkand at 4am. 

 Another hour by bus to the hotel complex, followed by confusion about which hotel we were staying at (they changed our hotel without telling us), and the team did not get to sleep until 6am (a full 12 hours after they arrived in Tashkent)

On the other hand, the chess venue is excellent. The playing hall is spacious, and the organisers have made it as comfortable as possible. As I am just Head of Delegation for Papua New Guinea this time, I did not have access to the playing area, so had to slum it in the very luxurious Expo area. Lots of activities, food and drink options, I was still bale to follow all of the action from a more comfortable viewing area. 

As for the chess, Round 1 is normally straightforward, with a few upsets thrown in. The PNG Open team almost pulled of a big one, going very close to 2-2 with Sri Lanka. We did pick up a default win on Board 4 (no idea why the Sri Lankan player was missing), and Tom McCoy had a winning position against his higher rated opponent on board 3. But a miscalculation late in the game turned a win into a loss, and we went down 1-3. For the first time ever PNG fielded a Women's team and despite losing 0-4 to Jordan, the team fought hard. Playing your first Olympiad and first Olympiad game is tough, and I am sure the next few rounds will see some improved results.

I think the Australian Open team won 4-0 against Senegal (based on the live broadcast results), while the Women's team won 3-1 (again based on live broadcast).  One upset result reported to me was a 2-2 between Brazil and Botswana, while top seeds India dropped a point to Thailand (on Bd 1) while Iraq took half a point off the USA