German team coach Jan Gustafsson commented on the win over the Uzbekistan team. Gustafsson says that before the match they understood they were underdogs. Jan notes that their team defeated all 3 Uzbekistan lineups.

Jan Gustafsson

Jan Gustafsson

German GM, coach, commentator

“I think we understood that we’re underdogs. But we already beat the US, so we also knew we can play with these teams. And then to plan out goes, you never know, but glad we won.

We had already beaten Uzbekistan-3, and Uzbekistan-2, and the US. So, we’ve been trying to do ‘Uzmaxxing’, which is now accomplished, there are no Uzbek opponents left.”

The Chess Olympiad 2026 takes place from September 16 to 27 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Team Germany defeated team Uzbekistan with a score of 2.5-1.5 in Round 8 of the event. Javokhir Sindarov defeated Matthias Bluebaum, and Nodirbek Abdusattorov drew with Vincent Keymer. Germany is in second place with 14 points.

Credit: Michal Walusza / FIDE