The Indian team — the reigning chess Olympiad champion — landed in Samarkand and waited five hours for the keys to their rooms. Team captain Srinath Narayanan wrote on social media about a "terrible experience" at the start of the tournament, and Vidit Gujrathi added: "A very bad first impression."
The organizers had promised accommodation at the Silk Road by Minyoun hotel, but the reservations did not reach the hotel in time. Some of the players only got their rooms by evening, and the coaches were left to share rooms. The Indian chess federation intervened through FIDE, and by night the issue was resolved, but a bad aftertaste remained.
For a team featuring Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa, Nihal Sarin and Vidit, such a start is not merely a domestic mishap. It is a reminder that even world champions depend on someone else's logistics. It is like a game in which your opponent has removed your pieces from the board in advance: the skill is there, but the conditions are not.
Behind this story lies an old problem: FIDE and local organizing committees often promise ideal conditions, but in reality everything is decided at the last moment. In 2024, in Budapest, India took double gold; now in Uzbekistan it is the same team, but already with a question of just how ready the organizers are for 200 teams.
Psychologically, this is a blow to concentration. After a long flight, instead of rest there is waiting at the front desk. Gukesh and company are supposed to play at their maximum, but instead they are spending their strength finding out where they will sleep. The analogy is simple: it is as if, before the World Cup final, the footballers had to spend the night on a bus by the stadium.
The situation was resolved, but the signal is clear: even in an elite sport where India dominates, organizational breakdowns remain the norm. The next step is not only medals, but also pressure on FIDE so that such "trifles" do not happen again. After all, chess is not only calculation at the board, but also the ability to play in conditions created by others.
