Eight Teams with a Perfect Score: Inclusivity and Chess in Samarkand
Eight Teams Maintain Perfect Records: Inclusivity and a Lifelong Love of Chess Take Center Stage in Samarkand
Samarkand has become one of the world’s major chess hubs in recent days. But the conversation here is not only about results, ratings, and medals. Chess is once again demonstrating its ability to bring people together regardless of age, physical ability, or life experience.
On September 12, FIDE highlighted the situation unfolding in Samarkand: eight teams were still maintaining perfect records, while questions of inclusivity and the opportunity to stay involved in chess throughout one’s life were also taking center stage.
It is this combination of sporting competition and human stories that makes the events particularly significant.
Eight Teams Without a Loss: A Perfect Start
In professional chess, a perfect record always attracts attention. Win after win is not simply a sign of good form — it demonstrates consistency, concentration, and the ability to perform under pressure.
In Samarkand, eight teams reached the maximum score. The situation is particularly interesting against the backdrop of the city’s packed chess calendar, which includes several major international events taking place at the same time.
Every subsequent round becomes a test of resilience under such circumstances. Starting a competition successfully is one thing; maintaining a 100-percent record once opponents know what to expect is something entirely different.
That is why the perfect start by eight teams is more than just a statistic. It is a promise of a serious battle still to come.
But Samarkand Is Talking About More Than Victories
The defining feature of the current events is that the chess agenda extends far beyond the tournament standings.
In September 2026, Samarkand is hosting the 46th Chess Olympiad as well as the third FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities. FIDE has presented these competitions as part of the city’s broader international chess program.
This is a fundamentally important point.
Chess is traditionally described as a universal game. But universality should not exist only in words. It means ensuring that as many people as possible can actually sit down at a board, play a game, find opponents, and feel that they are part of the chess community.
That is why inclusivity has taken on particular importance in Samarkand.
Chess Without Barriers
A chessboard does not require physical strength, running speed, or specific physical characteristics.
What matters is thinking, concentration, memory, calculation, and the ability to make decisions.
For people with disabilities, this creates unique opportunities. Chess allows them to compete internationally, build sporting careers, make friends, and remain connected to the game they love regardless of age.
The organization of a separate Olympiad for people with disabilities highlights this idea at the highest level.
But even more important is the fact that inclusivity is gradually ceasing to be viewed as a separate area. It is becoming a natural part of the development of chess.
A Lifelong Love of Chess
Another theme particularly visible in Samarkand is the opportunity to remain part of the chess world throughout one’s life.
In most sports, professional careers have relatively clear age limits. Chess is very different.
A child can discover the game at school, begin competing in tournaments as a teenager, continue playing competitively as an adult, and decades later still remain an active player, coach, organizer, or simply a passionate chess enthusiast.
That is why chess can accompany a person for virtually their entire life.
This characteristic is especially important for the development of chess culture. The game is no longer simply an activity for young talents or professional grandmasters. It becomes a space where different generations can meet.
From First Moves to the International Stage
Samarkand offers a vivid illustration of just how broad the chess world can be.
On one side are teams fighting for victories and producing perfect results.
On the other are people for whom simply having the opportunity to participate in a competition is itself a major achievement.
There is no contradiction between the two.
On the contrary, this combination makes chess stronger. Professional sport needs new generations of players, while grassroots and inclusive initiatives create the conditions for those generations to emerge.
Today, a child may walk into a chess club simply out of curiosity. A few years later, that child may compete in a national tournament. Later still, they may become a coach, arbiter, or mentor for the next generation.
That is how a chess ecosystem is built.
Samarkand Is Becoming a Symbol of Change
What makes the current chess events in Samarkand particularly significant is their scale.
The city is simultaneously becoming a venue for major international sport, a place to discuss the future of chess, and a platform for promoting the idea that the game should be accessible to everyone.
FIDE has repeatedly highlighted chess as a tool for education, social integration, and community building. In April, for example, the organization specifically highlighted Chess for Inclusion projects, emphasizing the educational potential of the game.
Those ideas are now receiving a practical continuation in Samarkand.
Here, inclusivity is not an abstract concept. It is part of real chess life.
Why This Matters for the Future of Chess
Tournament results change from year to year. One team may be at the top today, while another takes its place tomorrow.
But the development of chess cannot be measured by medals alone.
True success means having more players, more children's chess sections, more accessible tournaments, and more people who remain involved in chess after finishing school or ending their professional careers.
If a person can start playing at seven and still enjoy chess at seventy, then the game has truly become a part of their life.
That is what makes chess unique.
The Perfect Result Is More Than a Tournament Table
Eight teams with perfect records make for a compelling sporting story. But Samarkand offers a much broader narrative.
Several important ideas are coming together here: the pursuit of victory, making chess accessible to people with different abilities, friendship, education, and a love of a game that can remain with a person for decades.
And perhaps that is the most important result of all.
The winner of a particular tournament is decided by the final game. But the future of chess is determined by how many people want to play the next one.
Samarkand shows that there is a place in chess for everyone — regardless of age, playing level, or physical ability.
And that means chess continues to demonstrate its greatest strength: it can bring people together around the same board, turning opponents into members of one global community.