46th Chess Olympiad · Samarkand 2026 · Open section
Wales Open at the 2026 Chess Olympiad
Wales are almost exactly where their seeding suggested after six rounds: 101st from a starting rank of 100. Three wins and three defeats have produced six match points, while Ifan Rathbone-Jones has been the standout performer at 4½/5 without a loss.
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Squad
Player scores through Round 6
| Player | Rating | G | W | D | L | Score | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ifan Rathbone-Jones CM | 2117 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4½ | 90% |
| Iwan Cave | 2107 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 60% |
| Jose Camacho Collados IM | 2358 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2½ | 50% |
| Alex Bullen CM | 2096 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 40% |
| Jonathan Blackburn FM | 2239 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1½ | 37.5% |
Round 1
Wales 4–0 Saint Kitts and Nevis
Four boards, four wins. Wales opened with a 4-0 sweep of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
| Board | Wales | Opponent | Team result | Game result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonathan Blackburn Black · 2239 |
Carl Victor Adams Unrated |
Win | 0-1 |
| 2 | Ifan Rathbone-Jones White · 2117 |
Nohar Anganoo Unrated |
Win | 1-0 |
| 3 | Iwan Cave Black · 2107 |
Kaeden Fyfield-Jones Unrated |
Win | 0-1 |
| 4 | Alex Bullen White · 2096 |
David Jeetlall 1488 |
Win | 1-0 |
Board 1 Jonathan Blackburn vs Carl Victor Adams Win
Jonathan Blackburn already had some pressure, but Carl Victor Adams's 22.h4 turned it into a clear advantage. g4 was the tougher defence.
View in the Wales Open Lichess study → · Original broadcast game
Board 2 Ifan Rathbone-Jones vs Nohar Anganoo Win
Nohar Anganoo's 23...Rd8+ was the break in the game. There had been little in it; after that Ifan Rathbone-Jones had a clear advantage. axb5 was the tougher defence.
View in the Wales Open Lichess study → · Original broadcast game
Board 3 Iwan Cave vs Kaeden Fyfield-Jones Win
Kaeden Fyfield-Jones was under pressure before 6.Qe2; that move made the position much harder and Iwan Cave took over. Be2 was the tougher defence.
View in the Wales Open Lichess study → · Original broadcast game
Board 4 Alex Bullen vs David Jeetlall Win
This one turned in a move. David Jeetlall had the better position before 23...Bg4; afterwards Alex Bullen was winning. Be6 was the way to keep the advantage.
View in the Wales Open Lichess study → · Original broadcast game
Round 2
Wales 1–3 Singapore
Wales went down 3-1 to Singapore, with two draws but no wins.
| Board | Wales | Opponent | Team result | Game result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Camacho Collados White · 2358 |
Jingyao Tin 2584 |
Loss | 0-1 |
| 2 | Jonathan Blackburn Black · 2239 |
Zhenyong Jayden Wong 2360 |
Draw | 1/2-1/2 |
| 3 | Ifan Rathbone-Jones White · 2117 |
Zi Han Goh 2347 |
Draw | 1/2-1/2 |
| 4 | Iwan Cave Black · 2107 |
Kaushik Ashwath 2303 |
Loss | 1-0 |
Board 1 Jose Camacho Collados vs Jingyao Tin Loss
The position was still playable until Jose Camacho Collados played 43.Rd4. That was the point it tipped decisively towards Jingyao Tin. d6 was the tougher defence.
Board 2 Jonathan Blackburn vs Zhenyong Jayden Wong Draw
Not every draw hides a missed win. Jonathan Blackburn and Zhenyong Jayden Wong stayed close throughout, and neither built a sustained advantage.
Board 3 Ifan Rathbone-Jones vs Zi Han Goh Draw
Ifan Rathbone-Jones needed an escape and got one when Zi Han Goh played 34...Ke7. The advantage vanished, and the draw was there from that point. g6 was the better way to keep the pressure on.
Board 4 Iwan Cave vs Kaushik Ashwath Loss
Iwan Cave gave Kaushik Ashwath the opening with 72...Qc4+ with 41 seconds left. The game had been close; it was not close afterwards. Qb1+ was the tougher defence.
Round 3
Wales 3–1 Qatar
Wins from Jose Camacho Collados, Ifan Rathbone-Jones and Iwan Cave carried Wales to a 3-1 win over Qatar. Alex Bullen lost the other decisive board.
| Board | Wales | Opponent | Team result | Game result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Camacho Collados Black · 2358 |
Hamad Al-Kuwari 1862 |
Win | 0-1 |
| 2 | Ifan Rathbone-Jones White · 2117 |
Mohamad Firdaus Erfan 1852 |
Win | 1-0 |
| 3 | Iwan Cave Black · 2107 |
Khaled AlJamaat 1810 |
Win | 0-1 |
| 4 | Alex Bullen White · 2096 |
Mohamed Djerbi 1666 |
Loss | 0-1 |
Board 1 Jose Camacho Collados vs Hamad Al-Kuwari Win
Hamad Al-Kuwari's 24.Rg1 was the break in the game. There had been little in it; after that Jose Camacho Collados had a clear advantage. Rd1 was the tougher defence.
Board 2 Ifan Rathbone-Jones vs Mohamad Firdaus Erfan Win
Mohamad Firdaus Erfan's 42...Rf7 was the break in the game. There had been little in it; after that Ifan Rathbone-Jones had a clear advantage. g6 was the tougher defence.
Board 3 Iwan Cave vs Khaled AlJamaat Win
Iwan Cave already had some pressure, but Khaled AlJamaat's 22.Kh1 turned it into a clear advantage. Rf2 was the tougher defence.
Board 4 Alex Bullen vs Mohamed Djerbi Loss
Alex Bullen's 47.Nd4 was the break in the game. There had been little in it; after that Mohamed Djerbi had a clear advantage. Ne1 was the tougher defence. A 430-point rating upset.
Round 4
Wales 1–3 Uruguay
Wales went down 3-1 to Uruguay, with two draws but no wins.
| Board | Wales | Opponent | Team result | Game result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Camacho Collados White · 2358 |
Georg Meier 2612 |
Draw | 1/2-1/2 |
| 2 | Jonathan Blackburn Black · 2239 |
Facundo Vazquez 2411 |
Loss | 1-0 |
| 3 | Iwan Cave White · 2107 |
Bernardo Roselli Mailhe 2311 |
Loss | 0-1 |
| 4 | Alex Bullen Black · 2096 |
Eduardo Elena 2132 |
Draw | 1/2-1/2 |
Board 1 Jose Camacho Collados vs Georg Meier Draw
This was the chance that got away for Georg Meier. After 58...Rd2, a clearly better position was back to roughly level. Kf7 was the better way to keep the pressure on.
Board 2 Jonathan Blackburn vs Facundo Vazquez Loss
Facundo Vazquez already had some pressure, but Jonathan Blackburn's 24...g6 turned it into a clear advantage. h6 was the tougher defence.
Board 3 Iwan Cave vs Bernardo Roselli Mailhe Loss
Iwan Cave's 32.Qf3 with 3:11 left was the break in the game. There had been little in it; after that Bernardo Roselli Mailhe had a clear advantage. Kh2 was the tougher defence.
Board 4 Alex Bullen vs Eduardo Elena Draw
Eduardo Elena had the better of it, but 25.dxe5 let Alex Bullen off the hook. The advantage disappeared and the game came back to level. Bf5 was the better way to keep the pressure on.
Round 5
Wales 1½–2½ Saudi Arabia
Ifan Rathbone-Jones supplied a win for Wales, but Jose Camacho Collados and Jonathan Blackburn both lost and Saudi Arabia took the match.
| Board | Wales | Opponent | Team result | Game result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Camacho Collados Black · 2358 |
Ahmed Abdullah S Alrehaili 2106 |
Loss | 1-0 |
| 2 | Jonathan Blackburn White · 2239 |
Mohammed Fahad M Alsemail 1982 |
Loss | 0-1 |
| 3 | Ifan Rathbone-Jones Black · 2117 |
Yazeed Alshnaiber 1866 |
Win | 0-1 |
| 4 | Alex Bullen White · 2096 |
Emad Khayat 1939 |
Draw | 1/2-1/2 |
Board 1 Jose Camacho Collados vs Ahmed Abdullah S Alrehaili Loss
Ahmed Abdullah S Alrehaili already had some pressure, but Jose Camacho Collados's 11...Qa5 turned it into a clear advantage. h6 was the tougher defence. A 252-point rating upset.
Board 2 Jonathan Blackburn vs Mohammed Fahad M Alsemail Loss
The position was still playable until Jonathan Blackburn played 21.Qc4. That was the point it tipped decisively towards Mohammed Fahad M Alsemail. Nxd4 was the tougher defence. A 257-point rating upset.
Board 3 Ifan Rathbone-Jones vs Yazeed Alshnaiber Win
Ifan Rathbone-Jones was on the wrong side of the position until Yazeed Alshnaiber played 24.Nc3. That flipped the game, and the advantage did not swing back. f6 was the way to keep the advantage.
Board 4 Alex Bullen vs Emad Khayat Draw
Very little separated Alex Bullen and Emad Khayat. The position stayed within reach for both players and the point was shared.
Round 6
Wales 3–1 Guyana
Wales beat Guyana 3-1. Three wins outweighed the defeat for Alex Bullen.
| Board | Wales | Opponent | Team result | Game result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Camacho Collados Black · 2358 |
Sachin Dhilan Pitamber 1991 |
Win | 0-1 |
| 2 | Ifan Rathbone-Jones White · 2117 |
Kyle Couchman 2003 |
Win | 1-0 |
| 3 | Iwan Cave Black · 2107 |
Taffin Khan 2005 |
Win | 0-1 |
| 4 | Alex Bullen White · 2096 |
Anthony Drayton 2003 |
Loss | 0-1 |
Board 1 Jose Camacho Collados vs Sachin Dhilan Pitamber Win
Sachin Dhilan Pitamber was under pressure before 15.Bxe4; that move made the position much harder and Jose Camacho Collados took over. Ne2 was the tougher defence.
Board 2 Ifan Rathbone-Jones vs Kyle Couchman Win
Kyle Couchman's 20...Nd7 was the break in the game. There had been little in it; after that Ifan Rathbone-Jones had a clear advantage. Bd6 was the tougher defence.
Board 3 Iwan Cave vs Taffin Khan Win
Taffin Khan was under pressure before 23.Qb3+; that move made the position much harder and Iwan Cave took over. Re3 was the tougher defence.
Board 4 Alex Bullen vs Anthony Drayton Loss
Alex Bullen was under pressure before 44.Be2; that move made the position much harder and Anthony Drayton took over. Rg8 was the tougher defence. A 93-point rating upset.
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.