'Team landed 5 hours ago, still haven’t been allotted rooms': Srinath Narayanan slams FIDE Chess Olympiad arrangements

New Delhi: Indian Grandmaster and coach Srinath Narayanan has expressed his dissatisfaction with the arrangements for the FIDE Chess Olympiad. He said that even five hours after the team’s arrival, they have not been allotted rooms.

Team India has arrived in Samarkand for the 2026 FIDE Chess Olympiad, which starts on Wednesday. Srinath, the non-playing captain of the men's team, took to social media to share his "terrible experience".

"Having a terrible experience at the @FIDE_chess 2026 Olympiad. The team landed 5 hours ago at Samarkand airport. The team still hasn’t been allotted rooms, with absolutely no clarity on when it’ll be allotted," he posted on X.

The 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad takes place in Samarkand from September 15 to 27, with around 200 national teams competing across the Open and Women’s sections at the Silk Road International Exhibition Centre.

India is entering the tournament to defend the Open title with four members of their Budapest team. Arjun Erigaisi (2759) heads the Indian line-up, with Praggnanandhaa R. (2750) on second board. Nihal Sarin (2718) is listed third. Reigning World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju (2703) is fourth, with Vidit Gujrathi (2697) fifth.

Gukesh won individual gold as India finished four match points clear of the field. Arjun also took individual gold on board three.

History, however, is against them. No country has successfully defended the Open title since Armenia won consecutive Olympiads in 2006 and 2008. The last five editions have produced four different champions: China in 2014 and 2018, the United States in 2016, Uzbekistan in 2022 and India in 2024.

India also begins the Women’s competition as defending champions and top seeds. Humpy Koneru (2524) returns after sitting out Budapest and leads India’s order. Divya Deshmukh (2490) is second, followed by Vaishali Rameshbabu (2489), Vantika Agrawal, and young Savitha Shri B. Swayams Mishra, who is the captain.

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