FIDE Chess Olympiad: Indian Team Faces Accommodation Hassle in Uzbekistan

The FIDE Chess Olympiad is set to begin in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from September 16. However, the Indian chess contingent reportedly faced an unexpected accommodation issue after arriving in the host city. Grandmaster Srinath Narayanan said that the Indian team had been at the airport for more than five hours without rooms being allotted to the players and support staff. He also said there was no clarity on when the accommodation would be arranged.

Indian chess star Vidit Gujrathi also responded to the issue, saying that the accommodation arrangements for the team in Uzbekistan were yet to be finalised. The Indian contingent includes several leading names such as World Champion Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Koneru Humpy, Divya Deshmukh, Vidit Gujrathi and Arjun Erigaisi. The Olympiad will feature 400 teams across the Open and Women’s sections, with 208 teams in the Open category and 192 in the Women’s category.