San Marino has landed in Samarkand with two teams and ten players to take part in the 46th Chess Olympiad, scheduled to take place in Uzbekistan from 15 to 27 September.
The San Marino Chess Federation will compete in both the Open tournament, which features more than 200 entered teams, and the Women’s tournament, with over 190 squads registered. Around 2,000 players in total are expected at the Silk Road Congress Center.
In the Open event, San Marino’s colours will be defended by FIDE Masters Danilo Volpinari, Ezio Righi, Enrico Grassi and Mirko Leardini — the latter making his Olympic debut as the reigning San Marino champion — alongside young player Nicola D’Amico. San Marino will start the tournament ranked 165th.
In the Women’s tournament, the squad will feature Elena Krasnova, also making her debut as San Marino’s reigning women’s champion, along with Giulia Lazzarini, Dorina Capicchioni, Mariane Biordi and Cristina Giannini. The team will begin the event in 164th position.
For the delegation from the Titano, the event will above all serve as an international-level testing ground, offering the chance to compete against national teams with far longer traditions and much larger pools of players to draw from.
