Yakubboev Wins Nihal's Queen With a Check and Lifts Uzbekistan Over India at the Olympiad

Here is a puzzle. Black's knight is standing on d6. It is Black's turn, and the knight jumps to f5.

It looks like a normal move. But it lost the game. Look at the board first, and then we will find out why.

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Position after 37.g3, with Black to move. Black's king is on g5 and his knight is on d6. White's queen is on h2 and Black's queen is on c7.

Nodirbek Yakubboev 1-0 Nihal Sarin 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad, Samarkand 2026 · Open Section, Round 6 · 21 September 2026 White: Nodirbek Yakubboev, Uzbekistan (2685) · Black: Nihal Sarin, India (2718)

Uzbekistan is the host country of the Olympiad, and India is a very strong team. Uzbekistan won the match 2.5-1.5. The other three games were draws: Nodirbek Abdusattorov against R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi against Javokhir Sindarov, and Gukesh D against Shamsiddin Vokhidov. So this one win decided the match.

A slow game, level for a long time

The game began as a Queen's Gambit, where White pushes the d and c pawns.

1.d4 e6 2.c4 a6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bf4 Nf6 7.e3 Nh5 8.Bg5 Be7 9.Bxe7 Nxe7

Nothing dramatic happened for a long time. The pieces moved around, some pieces were traded and both players kept their queens. Our engine, Stockfish 17.1, rated the position as level, or within about half a pawn, for more than 30 moves.

By move 33, Nihal had walked his king out to h6.

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Position after 33...h4, with White to move. Black's king has walked out to h6. Black's pawns on g5 and h4 stand in front of it.

A king in the middle of the board with the queens still on is a risk, because the enemy queen and rooks can look for a way in. But it can also work, as long as the king stays covered.

Then the game became sharp.

34.Qh2 dxe4 35.f4 e3 36.fxg5+ Kxg5

After 35.f4, our engine saw Black as slightly better, by about one pawn. After 36...Kxg5 it was level again.

The king in the middle

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Position after 36...Kxg5, with White to move. Black's king stands on g5, in the middle of the board, and both queens are still on. Our engine says the game is level.

Black's king took a pawn on g5 and now stood in the middle of the board. Both queens were still there. Yakubboev played the calm 37.g3, and the game was still level.

37.g3

That is the puzzle position at the top. Our engine liked simple moves here, like 37...Kf6 or 37...Kh6, and it said the game was level. Here is what Nihal played.

37...Nf5

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Position after 37...Nf5, with White to move. The knight has left d6. The diagonal from White's queen on h2 to Black's queen on c7 is now open, except for White's own pawn on g3.

Our engine now had White ahead by more than four pawns. What changed?

Look at the long diagonal that runs from h2 up to c7. White's queen stands on h2. Black's queen stands on c7. Between them there used to be two pieces: White's own pawn on g3 and Black's knight on d6. When the knight jumped to f5, one of them was gone. Only White's own pawn was left in the way.

That is called an open line. When one of your pieces moves away, it can open a line for a piece behind it. It is easy to forget when you are thinking about where the knight is going, not what it was blocking.

The check that started it

38.Ne6+

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Position after 38.Ne6+, with Black to move. The knight gives check to the king on g5 and attacks the queen on c7 at the same time. Black's only way to capture it is 38...Rxe6.

White's knight jumped to e6 with check. That is a fork, because the knight attacks two things at once: Black's king on g5 and Black's queen on c7. Black had to do something about the check, and if the king simply moved, the knight would take the queen.

The only piece that could take the knight was the rook.

38...Rxe6 39.gxh4+ Nxh4

Now the pawn on g3 took a pawn on h4 with check. That is the key move. The pawn left the diagonal, and it gave check at the same time, so Black had to answer the check right away. Black's knight took the pawn on h4.

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Position after 39...Nxh4, with White to move. Nothing stands between the two queens on the diagonal from h2 to c7. It is White's move, and 40.Qxc7 takes Black's queen.

Look at the diagonal now. Nothing stands between the two queens. It was White's turn.

40.Qxc7

Black's queen was gone, and no black piece could take White's queen back. White had given a knight to win a queen. After 40.Qxc7 our engine had White ahead by more than three pawns.

The long finish

A run of trades followed on the e-file. White had won a queen, but the game did not end at once. Yakubboev's clock showed 1 minute 15 seconds after move 41 and 58 seconds after move 42. His lead shrank for a moment, but it stayed large.

40...Nf3+ 41.Kg2 Nxe1+ 42.Rxe1 e2 43.Rxe2 Rxe2+ 44.Bxe2 Rxe2+ 45.Kg3 Bd3 46.Qg7+ Kh5 47.Kf4 Re4+ 48.Kf3 Rh4 49.Kg3 Re4 50.b5 axb5 51.Qh7+ Kg5 52.Qxb7 b4 53.a6 Bxa6

On move 53, Black's bishop took the pawn on a6.

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Position after 53...Bxa6, with White to move. Black's bishop has left d3, and nothing protects the rook on e4.

The bishop used to stand on d3, and it was guarding the rook on e4. When it went to a6, nothing protected the rook any more. White's queen took advantage with a check.

54.Qg7+

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Position after 54.Qg7+, with Black to move. Black can play only 54...Kf5 or 54...Kh5. After either, 55.Qh7+ is check again, and the queen can take the rook on e4 next move.

Black's king has only two squares, f5 and h5. Whichever it chooses, White plays 55.Qh7+, giving check again. After that, White's queen can take the rook on e4. The game record ends after 54.Qg7+ with the result 1-0.

What this game teaches

1. Moving a piece can open a line. Before you move a piece, ask what it is blocking. Black's knight on d6 was standing on the line between the two queens. When it left, White's queen could see Black's queen.

2. A check is a very strong first move. Yakubboev's g3 pawn captured with check, so Black could not use the move to save the queen. When you are looking for a tactic, look at every check.

3. Forcing moves take the choice away. 38.Ne6+ left Black only one reply, the capture on e6. That gave White the time for 39.gxh4+, which was another check.

4. A king in the middle needs care. When both queens are still on the board, a king in the open has fewer places to hide.

5. Check what your piece protects before you grab a pawn. When Black's bishop took the pawn on a6, it left the rook without any protection. Before you capture, look at what your piece was guarding.

The next time you move a knight, look at the squares it leaves behind. The move that opens a line for you, or for your opponent, is the one that decides the game.