17-year-old Ukrainian grandmaster Ihor Samunenkov won the gold medal at the 46th World Chess Olympiad, held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The Ukrainian men’s team pulled off a sensational victory over the Chinese team, marking a significant achievement for Ukrainian chess players.
At the tournament, Samunenkov played on board four and scored 8 out of a possible 10 points, allowing him to demonstrate a performance equivalent to a rating of 2720. This rating corresponds to the level of a super grandmaster and places him among the top 30 chess players in the world.
Ihor Samunenkov outperformed such star players as the 18th world champion, Dommaraju Gukesh of India, and Levon Aronian, representing the United States. His success marked a significant milestone for Ukrainian chess.
At the team level, the Ukrainian men’s national team placed 11th, while the women’s team finished in 20th place. These results demonstrate the rising level of Ukrainian chess players on the international stage.
It is worth noting that the International Chess Federation extended the suspension of the Russian Chess Federation due to the occupation of Ukrainian territories, which also affected the competition’s results.
