India defended Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy at 2026 Chess Olympiad. (X/Praggnanandhaa)India defended the prestigious Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy at the 2026 Chess Olympiad in Samarkand on Sunday, finishing as the best overall nation after picking up a silver in the Open section and a bronze in the Women’s event.This marks the third straight edition where India have won the trophy, having claimed it on home turf in Chennai (2022), during their historic double-gold campaign in Budapest (2024), and now in Samarkand.While both Indian teams entered the final round as defending champions and could not retain their titles on a tense final day, their collective consistency across 11 rounds ensured India remained the dominant global powerhouse across both sections.In the Open section, hosts Uzbekistan bagged the gold on home soil to repeat their 2022 triumph. India took silver after a hard-fought 2–2 draw against Hungary. India and Germany finished locked on 18 match points and 28.5 game points, but India clinched the silver medal courtesy of their direct head-to-head win over the Germans, who settled for bronze.In the Women’s section, China put on a dominant run to take gold with a round to spare. Kazakhstan claimed silver, while India secured bronze after holding Georgia to a 2–2 draw, anchored by Koneru Humpy’s win on the top board and a clutch defensive hold from teenager Savitha Shri B.What is the Gaprindashvili Cup?Created by FIDE in 1997, the Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy is awarded to the country with the best combined performance across the Open and Women’s sections at the Olympiad.Named after the legendary Georgian player Nona Gaprindashvili, the first woman to earn the Grandmaster title, the trophy measures a federation’s overall bench strength and depth by combining match results from both competitions.Final Podium Standings at 2026 Chess OlympiadOpen SectionGold: UzbekistanSilver: IndiaBronze: GermanyWomen’s SectionGold: ChinaSilver: KazakhstanBronze: India