46th Chess Olympiad · Samarkand 2026 · Women's section

Scotland Women at the 2026 Chess Olympiad

Scotland Women reach the rest day with four wins and two defeats, sitting 57th from a starting rank of 60. Kanishka Bhatia has played every round and leads the scoring on 3½/6.

Starting seed60
After Round 657
Match points8
Game points13½
Match record4W 0D 2L

Squad

Player scores through Round 6

PlayerRatingGWDLScore%
Kanishka Bhatia WCM 2093 6 3 1 2 58.3%
Alice Lampard 1912 5 2 2 1 3 60%
Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant GM 2256 5 3 0 2 3 60%
Eve Clark 1868 3 2 0 1 2 66.7%
Suzie Cooke WFM 1906 5 1 2 2 2 40%

Tournament trajectory

Position after each round

RoundRankMPGP
Round 1 53 2 4
Round 2 95 2 4
Round 3 88 4 7
Round 4 86 4 8
Round 5 81 6 10½
Round 6 57 8 13½

Round 1

Scotland 4–0 Bermuda

After R1: 53rd

No drama in the scoreline. Scotland beat Bermuda 4-0.

BoardScotlandOpponentTeam resultGame result
1 Kanishka Bhatia
Black · 2093
Kaelyn Fleming
1471
Win 0-1
2 Suzie Cooke
White · 1906
Burch Sophia
1503
Win 1-0
3 Alice Lampard
Black · 1912
Massa Kelly
Unrated
Win 0-1
4 Eve Clark
White · 1868
Cressall-Haycock Francesca
Unrated
Win 1-0
Board 1 Kanishka Bhatia vs Kaelyn Fleming Win

Yusupov-Rubinstein System · Black · 2093 vs 1471

Kaelyn Fleming's 19.Nb3 was the break in the game. There had been little in it; after that Kanishka Bhatia had a clear advantage. c5 was the tougher defence.

Board 2 Suzie Cooke vs Burch Sophia Win

Queen's Pawn Game: Accelerated London System · White · 1906 vs 1503

Burch Sophia was under pressure before 4...a6; that move made the position much harder and Suzie Cooke took over. e5 was the tougher defence.

Board 3 Alice Lampard vs Massa Kelly Win

Queen's Pawn Game: Colle System · Black · 1912 vs Unrated

The position was still playable until Massa Kelly played 14.Qe4. That was the point it tipped decisively towards Alice Lampard. c4 was the tougher defence.

Board 4 Eve Clark vs Cressall-Haycock Francesca Win

English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Two Knights, Fianchetto Variation · White · 1868 vs Unrated

Cressall-Haycock Francesca was under pressure before 19...e4; that move made the position much harder and Eve Clark took over. Ne7 was the tougher defence.

Round 2

Scotland 0–4 Serbia

After R2: 95th

A hard round for Scotland. Serbia won all four boards.

BoardScotlandOpponentTeam resultGame result
1 Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant
Black · 2256
Teodora Injac
2406
Loss 1-0
2 Kanishka Bhatia
White · 2093
Elif Mehmed
2316
Loss 0-1
3 Suzie Cooke
Black · 1906
Jovana Srdanovic
2298
Loss 1-0
4 Alice Lampard
White · 1912
Sofia Pogorelskikh
2244
Loss 0-1
Board 1 Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant vs Teodora Injac Loss

Sicilian Defense: Nyezhmetdinov-Rossolimo Attack · Black · 2256 vs 2406

Teodora Injac already had some pressure, but Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant's 18...c5 with 4:10 left turned it into a clear advantage. f6 was the tougher defence.

Board 2 Kanishka Bhatia vs Elif Mehmed Loss

Queen's Gambit Declined: Westphalian Variation · White · 2093 vs 2316

Elif Mehmed already had some pressure, but Kanishka Bhatia's 26.Qc1 turned it into a clear advantage. Qd2 was the tougher defence.

Board 3 Suzie Cooke vs Jovana Srdanovic Loss

Slav Defense: Modern Line · Black · 1906 vs 2298

Suzie Cooke gave Jovana Srdanovic the opening with 22...Qd6. The game had been close; it was not close afterwards. Qb8 was the tougher defence.

Board 4 Alice Lampard vs Sofia Pogorelskikh Loss

Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Botvinnik System · White · 1912 vs 2244

Alice Lampard gave Sofia Pogorelskikh the opening with 34.Qh4 with 3:58 left. The game had been close; it was not close afterwards. Qg4 was the tougher defence.

Round 3

Scotland 3–1 Hong Kong, China

After R3: 88th

Scotland beat Hong Kong, China 3-1, with two wins and two draws.

BoardScotlandOpponentTeam resultGame result
1 Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant
White · 2256
Sigappi Kannappan
1955
Win 1-0
2 Kanishka Bhatia
Black · 2093
Tian Yi Liu
1799
Win 0-1
3 Suzie Cooke
White · 1906
Hoi Ting Leung
1636
Draw 1/2-1/2
4 Alice Lampard
Black · 1912
Wen Xi Fan
1672
Draw 1/2-1/2
Board 1 Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant vs Sigappi Kannappan Win

Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, English Attack, with f3 · White · 2256 vs 1955

The decisive shift came when Sigappi Kannappan played 17...d5. Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant took control and did not give it back. Ned7 was the tougher defence.

Board 2 Kanishka Bhatia vs Tian Yi Liu Win

French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Morozevich Variation · Black · 2093 vs 1799

Tian Yi Liu was under pressure before 17.Nd2; that move made the position much harder and Kanishka Bhatia took over. Bf4 was the tougher defence.

Board 3 Suzie Cooke vs Hoi Ting Leung Draw

Indian Defense: Accelerated London System · White · 1906 vs 1636

Suzie Cooke had the better of it, but 34.Qxa3 let Hoi Ting Leung off the hook. The advantage disappeared and the game came back to level. Rc3 was the better way to keep the pressure on.

Board 4 Alice Lampard vs Wen Xi Fan Draw

Queen's Pawn Game: Colle System · Black · 1912 vs 1672

This was the chance that got away for Wen Xi Fan. After 58.Kf5, a clearly better position was back to roughly level. Re7 was the better way to keep the pressure on.

Round 4

Scotland 1–3 Ukraine

After R4: 86th

Scotland went down 3-1 to Ukraine, with two draws but no wins.

BoardScotlandOpponentTeam resultGame result
1 Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant
Black · 2256
Anastasiia Hnatyshyn
2463
Loss 1-0
2 Kanishka Bhatia
White · 2093
Nataliya Buksa
2390
Draw 1/2-1/2
3 Suzie Cooke
Black · 1906
Anastasiya Rakhmangulova
2317
Loss 1-0
4 Alice Lampard
White · 1912
Tetyana Skarbarchuk
2221
Draw 1/2-1/2
Board 1 Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant vs Anastasiia Hnatyshyn Loss

Sicilian Defense: O'Kelly Variation, Maróczy Bind · Black · 2256 vs 2463

The position was still playable until Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant played 35...Rc8 with 40 seconds left. That was the point it tipped decisively towards Anastasiia Hnatyshyn. Qe2+ was the tougher defence.

Board 2 Kanishka Bhatia vs Nataliya Buksa Draw

Queen's Gambit Declined: Janowski Variation · White · 2093 vs 2390

Kanishka Bhatia's 40.Qd4 with 1:22 left was the release valve for Nataliya Buksa. The position had been difficult; after it, holding became much more realistic. Qb4 was the better way to keep the pressure on.

Board 3 Suzie Cooke vs Anastasiya Rakhmangulova Loss

French Defense: Advance Variation, Euwe Variation · Black · 1906 vs 2317

The position was still playable until Suzie Cooke played 86...Rxg5 with 1:30 left. That was the point it tipped decisively towards Anastasiya Rakhmangulova. Ra7 was the tougher defence.

Board 4 Alice Lampard vs Tetyana Skarbarchuk Draw

Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Variation, Botvinnik System · White · 1912 vs 2221

This was the chance that got away for Tetyana Skarbarchuk. After 72...Be4 with 1:38 left, a clearly better position was back to roughly level. Nxg5 was the better way to keep the pressure on.

Round 5

Scotland 2½–1½ Guatemala

After R5: 81st

Scotland edged Guatemala 2.5-1.5. Wins from Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant and Kanishka Bhatia were enough despite Eve Clark losing.

BoardScotlandOpponentTeam resultGame result
1 Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant
White · 2256
Jenny Fernanda Santiago Sontay
1844
Win 1-0
2 Kanishka Bhatia
Black · 2093
Deycy Daniela Raymundo
1832
Win 0-1
3 Suzie Cooke
White · 1906
Kerstin Danielle Reinhard Moller
1719
Draw 1/2-1/2
4 Eve Clark
Black · 1868
Carolina Mazariegos Kummerfeldt
1919
Loss 1-0
Board 1 Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant vs Jenny Fernanda Santiago Sontay Win

French Defense: Steinitz Variation, Boleslavsky Variation · White · 2256 vs 1844

Jenny Fernanda Santiago Sontay's 30...Qb7 was the break in the game. There had been little in it; after that Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant had a clear advantage.

Board 2 Kanishka Bhatia vs Deycy Daniela Raymundo Win

French Defense: Advance Variation, Wade Variation · Black · 2093 vs 1832

The position was still playable until Deycy Daniela Raymundo played 34.Rb6 with 59 seconds left. That was the point it tipped decisively towards Kanishka Bhatia. Kh2 was the tougher defence.

Board 3 Suzie Cooke vs Kerstin Danielle Reinhard Moller Draw

Indian Defense: Accelerated London System · White · 1906 vs 1719

This was the chance that got away for Suzie Cooke. After 27.Qd4, a clearly better position was back to roughly level. b4 was the better way to keep the pressure on.

Board 4 Eve Clark vs Carolina Mazariegos Kummerfeldt Loss

Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Indian Variation · Black · 1868 vs 1919

Eve Clark's 24...Rd6 was the break in the game. There had been little in it; after that Carolina Mazariegos Kummerfeldt had a clear advantage. Qd5 was the tougher defence.

Round 6

Scotland 3–1 Jamaica

After R6: 57th

Scotland beat Jamaica 3-1. Three wins outweighed the defeat for Kanishka Bhatia.

BoardScotlandOpponentTeam resultGame result
1 Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant
White · 2256
Adani Clarke
1943
Win 1-0
2 Kanishka Bhatia
Black · 2093
Rachel Miller
1974
Loss 1-0
3 Alice Lampard
White · 1912
Kaia Gayle
1741
Win 1-0
4 Eve Clark
Black · 1868
Amy Stephenson
1726
Win 0-1
Board 1 Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant vs Adani Clarke Win

French Defense: Advance Variation, Milner-Barry Gambit, Hector Variation · White · 2256 vs 1943

Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant already had some pressure, but Adani Clarke's 14...a5 turned it into a clear advantage. Be7 was the tougher defence.

Board 2 Kanishka Bhatia vs Rachel Miller Loss

King's Indian Attack, with e6 · Black · 2093 vs 1974

Rachel Miller already had some pressure, but Kanishka Bhatia's 20...Qc7 with 1:31 left turned it into a clear advantage. h6 was the tougher defence. A 119-point rating upset.

Board 3 Alice Lampard vs Kaia Gayle Win

Queen's Gambit Declined: Exchange Variation, Positional Variation · White · 1912 vs 1741

Alice Lampard already had some pressure, but Kaia Gayle's 20...Bxb5 turned it into a clear advantage. Bxc3 was the tougher defence.

Board 4 Eve Clark vs Amy Stephenson Win

Italian Game: Classical Variation, Giuoco Pianissimo · Black · 1868 vs 1726

Eve Clark already had some pressure, but Amy Stephenson's 43.Ra7 turned it into a clear advantage. Nb4 was the tougher defence.

Sources and method. Match scores, pairings, ratings and standings are taken from Chess-Results. Game commentary is based on the supplied Olympiad PGNs and their embedded engine evaluations. Engine labels are used as evidence for the identified turning points; they are not presented as comments made by the players.