3rd Olympiad for People with Disabilities Begins Friday

The 3rd FIDE Olympiad for People with Disabilities begins this week in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, with the opening ceremony on Thursday and the first round beginning Friday, Sept. 11, at 5 a.m. CDT (3 p.m. local time).

According to FIDE, a record-setting 40 teams will participate in the seven-round event, which concludes on Thursday, Sept. 17. The tournament overlaps for two rounds with the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad, which begins Wednesday, Sept. 16, also in Samarkand. This is the first time these events are hosted concurrently. 

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Team USA's roster for this week's event is available here. As FIDE writes in its press release, "The United States returns with brothers Sullivan and Griffin McConnell after finishing level on match points for sixth place in Astana and placing seventh on tie-break. Celine Atassi, who received the prize for the youngest player in the physical disability category at that event, is also back in the team."

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According to the team list, Team USA enters as the ninth seed with an average rating of 2075. The top two seeds — Poland and Cuba — both boast average ratings over 2200 and have to be considered the pre-tournament favorites. Poland won the first event in 2023. The reigning champion, FIDE (Russia), is not defending its title. 

This article will be updated by Friday with links to the live broadcast and pictures from the opening ceremony.