Hungary’s open chess team continued its unbeaten run at the Chess Olympiad in Uzbekistan on Saturday, defeating Israel to secure a fourth consecutive match victory. With three of the four games ending in draws, Benjamin Gledura’s game proved decisive. Hungary’s women’s team, meanwhile, suffered their first defeat of the tournament against China after opening with three victories.

The 46th Chess Olympiad is taking place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, bringing together national teams from across the world. The open competition features 206 teams, while 188 are competing in the women’s section. The tournament runs until 27 September.

For readers less familiar with team chess, each match consists of four individual games. A win earns one game point, a draw half a point and a loss none. The combined scores determine which team wins the match, with a victory worth two match points.

Hungary defeated Israel 2.5–1.5 in the fourth round, following earlier victories over Malta, Colombia and Slovenia. The team, captained by Csaba Balogh, therefore have the maximum eight match points from their opening four encounters.

Benjamin Gledura delivers another crucial victory

Hungary rested experienced grandmaster Peter Leko for the match against Israel. Richard Rapport played on the top board, followed by Benjamin Gledura, Tamas Banusz and Gleb Dudin. Rapport, Banusz and Dudin all drew their games, leaving Gledura’s encounter with Avital Boruchovsky to decide the match.

Gledura won in 44 moves, securing the point Hungary needed for another 2.5–1.5 victory. The result was particularly welcome for the Hungarian grandmaster, who had lost his opening-round game against Malta but has since contributed two wins to the team’s campaign.

All four of Hungary’s matches have ended by the same narrow margin. Under the Olympiad’s scoring system, however, the size of a victory does not affect the match points awarded: each win is worth two points.

What are Hungary’s prospects at the Olympiad?

Hungary entered the open competition as the eighth-seeded team. Balogh said before the tournament that he hoped his players would finish in the top ten. The competition also has a recent connection to Hungary: Budapest hosted the previous Chess Olympiad in 2024, when the Hungarian open team finished 11th.

With seven rounds still to play, the team’s four-match winning streak has given them a strong start, although their final position remains to be decided.

China end Hungarian women’s winning streak

Hungary’s women’s team also began the Olympiad with three victories, beating Venezuela, Japan and the Philippines. Their unbeaten run ended in the fourth round, when China secured a 3.5–0.5 victory.

Zsoka Gaal, Szidonia Lazarne Vajda and Petra Papp lost their respective games. Nomin-Erdene Davaademberel earned Hungary’s only half-point with a draw against Zhai Mo.

Hungary’s women entered the tournament as the 18th-seeded team. Both Hungarian squads have seven more rounds ahead of them before the Olympiad concludes on 27 September.

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Featured image: Facebook / FIDE – International Chess Federation