German team coach Jan Gustafsson spoke about choosing a player for board 4 at the Chess Olympiad. Gustafsson jokes that he picks the player randomly, and notes that this choice is difficult for him. Jan spoke about it in an interview with ChessBase India.

Jan Gustafsson

Jan Gustafsson

German GM, coach, commentator

“[Question: How was the decision who to bench from board 4?]

It’s fairly random, to be honest. I have a dice with me…

I can’t really tell you that much about my deep decision process, but it’s always tough. Which is great because that means everybody is playing alright and the team is doing well.”

The Chess Olympiad 2026 takes place from September 16 to 27 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The Germany team is in 6th place with 14 points after 9 days of the event.

Credit: Michal Walusza / FIDE