Olympiad · Open · Round 3

Giri beats Cheng: the one move that decided it

September 18, 2026 · Giri 1–0 Cheng

After 65.h7 · Stockfish +4.53 → +4.54

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GM Anish Giri (Netherlands) beat GM Bobby Cheng (Australia) in round 3 of the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad Samarkand 2026 (Open), in 76 moves.

65.h7 was the move. Stockfish had the position as winning for White (+4.53) before it and winning for White (+4.54) after it, and it never swung back. It was played with 2:08 left on the clock.

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It began as the Zukertort Opening: Reversed Grünfeld.

Replay it move by move, then take the key position on against the engine.

White: GM Anish Giri, 2757 · Netherlands
Black: GM Bobby Cheng, 2570 · Australia
Result: 1–0 in 76 moves
Opening: Zukertort Opening: Reversed Grünfeld · A08
Event: 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad Samarkand 2026, Open, Round 3 · Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Key move: {0}: 65.h7

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The game

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27.28.29.30.31.32.33.34.35.36.37.38.39.40.41.42.43.44.45.46.47.48.49.50.51.52.53.54.55.56.57.58.59.60.61.62.63.64.65.66.67.68.69.70.71.72.73.74.75.76.1–0

Moves from the official broadcast — the game on Lichess. Evaluations by Stockfish 18. Brass Pawn is not affiliated with the event or the players.