MADRID, September 19. /Dunyo IA/.  The 46^th Chess Olympiad has begun in Samarkand, bringing together representatives of 204 countries and territories and more than 3,000 participants, reports Dunyo IA correspondent, citing with the Spanish newspaper “El País”.

Open section features 207 teams, including three teams representing Uzbekistan and a refugee team supported by FIDE. A total of 191 teams are competing in the Women’s section.

Participants include chess players of different ages and nationalities, among them 12-year-old Argentine Faustino Oro, 10-year-old Vedant Shetty of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 11-year-old Sayumi Halangoda of Sri Lanka and 74-year-old Eugenio Torre of the Philippines.

In addition to the players, arbiters, journalists, bloggers, delegates, business representatives and other officials have gathered in Samarkand. At the same time, the third Chess Olympiad for people with disabilities is being held.

In the Open section, the main contest for medals is expected to involve teams from the United States, India, Uzbekistan and China. Leading women’s teams include India, Georgia, Kazakhstan, China, the United States and Ukraine.

Particular attention is focused on 20-year-old Indian world champion Dommaraju Gukesh. The Olympiad will be one of the stages of his preparation for his match against 20-year-old Uzbek chess player Javokhir Sindarov, which is scheduled to take place in two months.

Organizers have also prepared an extensive cultural programme. Opening ceremony featured performances by renowned artists, two orchestras, dance ensembles, a light show and fireworks.

Olympiad will run until September 27^th.