Wesley So names Uzbekistan team main favourite of Chess Olympiad

According to the chess player, the Uzbek team is aided by high motivation, a strong roster—specifically grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov—as well as the host status. Assessing the US team's chances, So noted that it is difficult for the squad to fight for gold: some players are not in their best shape, and the overall level of competitors at the Olympiad has grown noticeably. In addition, the grandmaster emphasised that the Americans' results are affected by the absence of Hikaru Nakamura, who has not competed in Olympiads since 2018.

Among the strong contenders, the grandmaster also singled out China, pointing to the team's well-coordinated joint preparation and the high potential of the 16-year-old reserve player, whom he compared to Ding Liren.

For Wesley So, the tournament in Samarkand has become the ninth Olympiad of his career. He positively assessed the level of organization of the competition by the government of Uzbekistan, comparing it to the 2008 tournament in Dresden.