Shant Sargsyan gives Armenia its fourth straight win at the 2026 Chess Olympiad

Armenia’s open team continues its winning run at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. In Round 4, Armenia defeated Argentina 2.5–1.5.

The decisive point was scored by Shant Sargsyan (2630), who defeated Sandro Mareco (2551) on board three. The other three games ended in draws.

Armenia — Argentina — 2.5–1.5

• Haik Martirosyan (2664) — Faustino Oro (2537) — 0.5–0.5
• Robert Hovhannisyan (2642) — Diego Flores (2590) — 0.5–0.5
• Shant Sargsyan (2630) — Sandro Mareco (2551) — 1–0
• Gabriel Sargissian (2610) — Federico Perez (2541) — 0.5–0.5

It was Armenia’s fourth consecutive victory at the tournament. The Armenian team had previously defeated Barbados, Scotland and Sweden.

Armenia will face a major challenge in Round 5, when it takes on China, one of the main favorites of the Olympiad.

Armenia women suffer first defeat

Armenia’s women’s team suffered its first defeat of the 2026 Chess Olympiad in Round 4. The Armenian players faced one of the tournament favorites, Kazakhstan, which claimed a 3–1 victory.

Armenia — Kazakhstan — 1–3

• Lilit Mkrtchian (2353) — Bibisara Assaubayeva (2536) — 0–1
• Mariam Mkrtchyan (2374) — Alua Nurman (2455) — 0.5–0.5
• Elina Danielian (2382) — Meruert Kamalidenova (2413) — 0.5–0.5
• Susanna Gaboyan (2179) — Elnaz Kaliakhmet (2347) — 0–1

Mariam Mkrtchyan and Elina Danielian earned draws for Armenia, but defeats on the first and fourth boards prevented the team from taking any match points.

In Round 5, Armenia’s women’s team will face Peru.