Caribbean teams finish down the pack at 46th Chess Olympiad

Uzbekistan won the Open section of the 2026 Chess Olympiad, while China won the Women’s section, as Caribbean teams finished down the pecking order when the tournament concluded at the Silk Road International Exhibition Centre on Sunday.

Uzbekistan finished with 19 points after winning nine of their 10 matches to capture their second Open title, one more than second-place India, who won on the tiebreak ahead of Germany.

Cuba were the highest-placed Caribbean side, in 61st position, out of 206 countries after winning five, drawing three, and losing two matches.

They were followed by Barbados, who placed 109th (4-2-4), Jamaica in 113th (4-2-4), and Trinidad and Tobago in 123rd, who won four games, lost five, and drew one.

Aruba followed in 132nd, Guyana finished 143rd, Cayman Islands 147th, Suriname 152nd, and The Bahamas 153rd.

Antigua & Barbuda finished 156th, Haiti was 161st, St Lucia 164th, and Grenada 173rd.

Meanwhile in the Women’s section, China played unbeaten, winning nine and drawing two of their matches to cop the title, with Kazakhstan capturing silver and India bronze.

Once again, Cuba were the top-performing side from the region, placing 31st. Jamaica finished in 90th position, Barbados was 103rd, the Dominican Republic 107th, and Haiti 110th.

The Bahamas were 122nd overall, Trinidad and Tobago 126th, the Cayman Islands 131st, and Aruba 134th.

The Open section was contested by 206 teams representing 204 nations. Uzbekistan, the host nation, fielded three teams. In the Women’s section, there were 189 teams, representing 187 nations.