The Indian team poses on the podium at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest. (PHOTO: FIDE/ Michal Walusza)India begin their Chess Olympiad 2026 campaign on Wednesday, with the Open team taking on Thailand and the Women’s team facing the Dominican Republic in Samarkand in the first round. India are the defending champions in both the Open and Women’s sections, having won historic double gold medals in both sections in Budapest in 2024.207 countries are in the Open section, while 191 countries in the Women’s section are competing at the Samarkand Olympiad, making it one of the biggest Chess Olympiads in history.Here is a breakdown of how the tournament works.What is the Chess Olympiad?The Chess Olympiad is the world’s premier team chess competition, organised by FIDE, the International Chess Federation. First held officially in 1927 in London, it crowns the strongest chess nation and is considered FIDE’s Team Champion. The 2026 edition is the 46th, hosted at the Silk Road International Exhibition Centre in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.Team FormatEach country registers five players, but only four play in any given match, with one reserve player. A team match consists of four individual games.The Olympiad follows an 11-round Swiss system, where teams with similar scores are paired against each other in each round. No team is eliminated, and every squad plays all 11 rounds.ALSO READ | Chess Olympiad 2026: India’s full squad, schedule, format, venue, time control & top seedsThe scoring system is what makes the Olympiad strategically fascinating. Winning the match earns two match points, a 2-2 draw gets one point for each team, and a loss results in zero points. The tournament is not decided by the total number of individual games won, but by winning matches. A 4-0 victory is worth the same two match points as a 2.5-1.5 victory.Story continues below this adBoard order and its significanceBefore the tournament begins, every country must submit a fixed board order for their four players. This order cannot be changed between rounds. Typically, the strongest player plays on Board 1, the second strongest on Board 2, and so on.Why does board order matter?Playing on Board 1 is not just a matter of prestige. It means facing the strongest player from every opposing team. The lower boards, by contrast, often feature less formidable opposition. This is why captains sometimes make strategic decisions about where to place their strongest players.