5 hours, no rooms: Gukesh, India Chess Olympiad team face accomodation chaos in Uzbekistan
D Gukesh and the rest of the Indian Chess Olympiad team have been struck by accommodation chaos in Samarkand, Uzbekistan as they haven't been allotted rooms, despite landing in the city for more than five hours. Srinath Narayanan and Vidit Gujrathi revealed that the situation hasn't changed and the defending Olympiad champions are still waiting for clarity.
Gukesh and Co. have been left stranded in Uzbekistan ( Image: X/@ChessbaseIndia)
UPDATED: Sep 15, 2026 17:29 IST
Written By: Alan Jose John
Grandmaster and non-playing captain of the Indian chess Olympiad team, Srinath Narayanan, has shared the terrible experience that the squad is facing ahead of the 2026 FIDE Chess Olympiad, with the prestigious event set to begin on Wednesday, September 16.
The team’s arrival in Samarkand has not gone as smoothly as expected. Even after spending around five hours in the city's airport, the Indian players and support staff were reportedly still waiting to be assigned their rooms at the accommodation.
FIDE CHESS OLYMPIAD: FULL COVERAGE
'TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE'
Srinath highlighted the situation on social media, giving followers a glimpse of the difficulties the Indian contingent faced upon arrival. The Indian non-playing captain said that the team hasn't been provided any clarity on when the situation will be cleared up.
"Having a terrible experience at the @FIDE_chess 2026 Olympiad."
"The team landed 5 hours ago at Samarkand airport. The team still haven’t been allotted rooms, with absolutely no clarity on when it’ll be allotted," said Srinath on X.
Srinath's concerns were echoed by Vidit Gujrathi, who said the team was still waiting for their accommodation to be sorted in Uzbekistan.
"Very poor first impressions of the Samarkand, Uzbekistan Olympiad 2026. Still waiting." tweeted Vidit on X.
INDIA ENTER AS DEFENDING CHAMPIONS
The chaos regarding the accommodation isn't the start that the Indian team wanted as they enter the chess Olympiad with high expectations. The Indian men's and women's teams produced a sensational double gold performance at the last Olympiad in Budapest in 2024.
India have named two strong squads for both the men's and women's sides, with the likes of D Gukesh, Divya Deshmukh, Koneru Humpy and R. Praggnanandhaa leading the charge as they look to defend their crown.
The Chess Olympiad is widely regarded as the premier team competition in the sport, bringing together players from across the world. The 2026 edition will get underway after the opening ceremony on September 15, with 11 rounds of classical chess to follow.
The event is also set to make history in terms of participation. A total of 400 teams have been entered across the Open and Women’s competitions, with 208 teams in the Open section and another 192 in the Women’s event.
The numbers eclipse the previous record of 380 teams, which was set at the 2024 Olympiad in Budapest.
INDIAN TEAMS FOR CHESS OLYMPIAD
Open Team: D. Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, R. Praggnanandhaa, Nihal Sarin, Vidit Gujrathi
Captain: Srinath Narayanan
Women's Team: Koneru Humpy, R. Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, Savitha Shri B
Captain: Swayams Mishra
- Ends