The Indian chess team’s arrival in Samarkand for the 46th Chess Olympiad has been marred by a serious accommodation crisis, with several players left without hotel rooms hours after landing.

Men’s team captain Srinath Narayanan confirmed that the entire contingent is yet to receive their rooms, with the local organising committee allegedly failing to send reservations to the hotel. “We were told that the hotel was overbooked and the reservation wasn’t sent by LOC to the hotel,” Srinath told from Samarkand.

The team was supposed to stay at the “Silk Road by Minyoun” hotel in Samarkand. At the time of writing, some players had been allotted rooms, but a few remain stranded without accommodation.

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The All India Chess Federation (AICF) has sent Head of Delegation Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte to assist the team on the ground. “AICF president Nitin Narang is coordinating over the phone with the local organising committee and FIDE,” Srinath added.

Srinath also took to social media to express his frustration. “Having a terrible experience at the @FIDE_chess 2026 Olympiad. The team landed 5 hours ago at Samarkand airport. The team still haven’t been allotted rooms, with absolutely no clarity on when it’ll be allotted,” he wrote on X.

“Very poor first impressions of the Samarkand, Uzbekistan Olympiad 2026. Still waiting,” Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi also posted on X.

Having a terrible experience at the @FIDE_chess 2026 Olympiad.

The team landed 5 hours ago at Samarkand airport. The team still haven’t been allotted rooms, with absolutely no clarity on when it’ll be allotted.

— Srinath Narayanan (@srinathchess) September 15, 2026

The Indian squad is headlined by current World Champion D Gukesh, 2026 Women’s Candidates winner R Vaishali, and Grand Chess Tour and Norway Chess champion R Praggnanandhaa. The open team features Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi, Praggnanandhaa, Nihal Sarin, and Gujrathi, with Srinath Narayanan as captain. The women’s team comprises Koneru Humpy, R Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, and Savitha Shri B, captained by Swayams Mishra.

Very poor first impressions of the Samarkand, Uzbekistan Olympiad 2026.

Still waiting…. https://t.co/bODIqvnlJ0

— Vidit Gujrathi (@viditchess) September 15, 2026

India are the defending champions in both the Open and Women’s sections, having claimed a historic dual gold medal in Budapest in 2024. The 46th Chess Olympiad runs from September 15 to 27, with the first round starting September 16 at the Silk Road International Exhibition Centre.