Levon Aronian spoke about the Chess Olympiad 2026 in an interview on the Chess with Mustreader channel. Aronian says the US team was unlucky in the match against Uzbekistan. Levon notes the tactic of playing as Black at the Olympiad.

Levon Aronian

Levon Aronian

American GM

“Of course, we were unlucky in the match against Uzbekistan. It seems to me this match was going well for us at some point.

[Question: At the previous tournament in Uzbekistan, you said you underestimated your opponents. What lessons did you learn from this tournament?]

I cannot say that here I underestimated my opponents. But the team situation is such that you need to play as Black for a win. And this is always risky, of course…

Little by little, we are learning to play the Sicilian Defense!”

The Chess Olympiad 2026 took place from September 16 to 27 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The United States of America team finished the tournament in 4th place with 17 points.

Credit: Lennart Ootes