Wesley So called the Uzbekistan team the main favorite of the Chess Olympiad

American grandmaster Wesley So, after the match of the third round of the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, stated that he considers Uzbekistan the main contender for victory in the tournament. According to the chess player, the Uzbek team is helped by high motivation, a strong composition, in particular grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov, as well as the status of the hosts of the competition. Evaluating the chances of the US team, So noted that it is difficult for the team to fight for gold: some players are not in the best shape, and the overall level of opponents at the Olympiad has noticeably increased. In addition, the grandmaster emphasized that the absence of Hikaru Nakamura, who has not performed at the Olympiad since 2018, affects the results of the Americans.

Among the strong competitors, the grandmaster also highlighted China, pointing to the team's cohesive 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 became the ninth Olympiad in his career. He positively assessed the level of organization of the competition by the government of Uzbekistan, comparing it to the tournament in Dresden in 2008.