The final analysis of India's GOLD medal chances | Round 10 Recap | Chess Olympiad 2026

Hi everyone, today was the penultimate round of the FIDE Chess Olympiad 2026, and as you can see, we are no longer in the playing hall of the tournament. We are on the streets of Samarkand. Today I decided to come back home early because tomorrow the round is earlier, but I would like to give you a complete recap of what happened today and what we can expect Tomorrow, because the gold medal, silver medal, and bronze medal is at stake, and we are going to analyze all of this in today's Neuro Recap of the Day. Ever blundered in a winning position just because your brain blanked out? In chess and in life, lack of attention and focus can cost you games and key moments. Instead of reaching for that 3rd cup of coffee or that energy drink can that can give you jitters or overstimulate you, Try NeuroGum. It's viral in the US. It has a clinically proven blend of natural caffeine that gives you alertness and L-theanine that gives you calm and stable focus without the jitters or the crash. An MIT study shows that it gets you to a high focus 21% faster. So try NeuroGum. It's now available in India. Click on the link in the description. India in the open section beat Uzbekistan too with a thumping three and half half victory. I think it was kind of expected with Pragnananda beating Jakongir Vakidov. On board number two, Arjun Erigaisi was completely winning against Abdi Salimov but couldn't manage to convert it. On board three, Nihal Sarin's opponent Suyarov. Blundered out of the opening, and Nihal won smoothly. And Gukesh managed to beat Ortik Nigmatov quite smoothly. I must say, playing the London System, that gave us a three and half half victory. We were hoping that Armenia would be able to stop Uzbekistan, but it was not to be. Uzbekistan also crushed it on the top board, and with this, India. Is still one point behind Uzbekistan, but now we are in the sole second position of the tournament. In the women's section, India took on today China, the leaders. If we had beaten them, we would have been the favorites for the gold because we were two match points behind. It started with Humpy drawing on the top board and. Divya also trying her game on the second board. Now Vantika was playing on board number 3 against Lu Miaoyi, and Vantika fought really, really hard. On the fourth board, we had Savita Shree fighting against Zaimo, and they both were playing really well. At some point, Vantika had a fine position, but a beautiful play by Lu Miaoyi meant that Vantika lost her game and it all was on Savita's shoulders now. Actually, Savita had blundered earlier in the game when she played the move Bishop g5. And that was crazy because her opponent took on d4 and she lost a pawn because the queen is hanging. If you take Knight d4, then g5 is hanging. And so Savita was a pawn down and she fought like a lion, you know. She was so, so good. She fought so hard, and in the end, she made one good move after another. This, this, this, and she managed to convert that into a win. It was an epic, epic game by her, and that helped India to keep a 2-2 tie against China, which means that India theoretically has a chance to win the gold medal in both women and open. Let's try to analyze our chances. Now first, let's begin with the open section. It's very clear how India can win the gold here. Now the thing is, Uzbekistan take on Ukraine in the last round. Now Ukraine did beat China in the penultimate round, so they are in decent form. We have Kovalenko on top board, Ivanchuk, there is Detyarov. It's a good team. So if they manage to Hold Uzbekistan. I think Uzbekistan become the champions even if they get one like two-two. But if Ukraine manages to beat Uzbekistan, India has a real chance because we take on Hungary. And in the Hungarian team, it's a good team. Richard Rapport isn't firing at the top. He's playing okay chess. Peter Leko is on board too, and I think Arjun Erigaisi is a favorite there. I think Nihal Sarin will play tomorrow because it's a very important game, and he will most likely face Benjamin Gladura. And the most intense matchup will happen between Gukesh, who is really playing well— he's on 8.5 out of 10, very big contender for the individual gold medal. I think he'll get it. He's going to face Duden Gleb, and Duden is the best performing player for Hungary. He's on 7 out of 9. Now, if we beat Hungary, we have a real chance. Like we go up and Uzbekistan lose. We outright win the gold. But if Uzbekistan draws and India win, then the SB comes in. That's the second. SB is nothing but the points that you have scored against an opposing team multiplied by their match points. And in this, India will fall short because we haven't beaten many teams with a big margin. But still, there is a theoretical chance if we win by a big margin and Uzbekistan have drawn 2-2. But I think that's an unlikely scenario that we will be able to surpass Uzbekistan on the SB score because there's such a huge gap. So the road to gold medal is simple: win your game. If you win your match as India, you are confirmed the silver medal. It's done. If you beat Hungary, but if you manage to win and Uzbekistan lose to Ukraine, you can get the gold still. Let's move to the women's section and see what are our chances there. India is taking on a very strong team of Georgia, and China has to lose because they are two match points ahead. And China plays Vietnam. Now Vietnam is a good team; they have won many matches. In the last few rounds, but China is a notch above them. I think the only place where Vietnam can strike is on the last board because Vietnamese player is in great form there. So there, I guess if Vietnam beats China, if Kazakhstan, who is one match point ahead of us, loses to Poland— now Kazakhstan losing to Poland is more realistic because we also have lost to Poland. And lastly, India has to beat Georgia. Now we have a very strong team in the last round. Think about it. On top board, Zagdidsa. Then there is Batseashvili. Then there is Khotenaishvili. They three will play between Javakashvili and Meriarabidze. I think Javakashvili might play the last round, and India very likely will give give rest to Vantika. Unless we think that Vantika could win, win the board medal and perhaps Vaishali will rest. Not so sure, but I think it will be Hampi, Vaishali, Divya, and Savita who will play tomorrow. And India needs to win tomorrow by a good score, by a good margin. We have a very good SB score. We could potentially reach high. Now India very well after beating Georgia could get a bronze medal. But the only way to gold is that China has to lose to Vietnam, Kazakhstan has to lose to Poland, and we need to beat Georgia. If all of this happens, then India can win gold in both open and women. It's still a theoretical chance. My guess is that in the women's section, it looks tremendously difficult. Silver Would be possible if we beat Georgia. In the men's also, gold looks very difficult that Ukraine will lose to Ukraine will beat Uzbekistan. So I think silver also looks likely there. Let's hope that we win two golds. If not two golds, two silvers or one gold, one silver, or maybe just go back home with two medals. We have individual board medal chances for Gukesh, who has played exceedingly well. Gold, I think. Savita Shri, who is on eight and a half out of nine. She has a great chance, and I believe maybe a couple of other players could win silver or bronze medal. Let's hope for the best tomorrow. Round starts 4 hours before the scheduled time. Usually it starts at 3 PM. Tomorrow it starts at 11 AM. Be there to join us in the live broadcast. This, dear friends, is the Neuro Recap of the day. I hope you enjoyed it. This is Sagar Shah signing off. Bye-bye.