Women's Chess Olympiad: Top Teams Dominate Opening Round

The Women's Chess Olympiad commenced in Samarkand, where India, the top-seeded defending champions, began their title defense. They are joined by strong competitors including Georgia, Kazakhstan, China, and the United States, all of whom have average ratings exceeding 2400 Elo points.

In the opening round, nine of the top ten seeds achieved 4-0 victories, with the only exception being Germany, who won 3-1 against Malta. The matches largely followed expected outcomes, with higher-rated players prevailing. Notably, Bodhana Sivanandan from England, at just 11 years old, won her match against Hanna Wilson from Barbados.

India's lineup features three returning members from their gold-winning team in Budapest, including Humpy Koneru, while Kazakhstan, silver medalists from two years ago, returned as the third seeds. China, despite missing their top players, fielded a strong team, and the United States included both experienced and young talents.