Five complete games from five Ireland players include two Round 7 rating upsets and the decisive final-round win over Albania.
Ireland Women entered Samarkand seeded 56 and finished 57th with 13 match points and 23½ board points. Their match record was 6 wins, 1 draw and 4 losses. Official team record.
Ireland Women opened 4-0 against Myanmar and lost 0-4 to Germany, then responded with wins over Nicaragua and Jamaica. After a heavy defeat to Iran they beat Syria and Latvia, reaching 10 match points after seven rounds. Losses to Israel and Turkiye were followed by a 2-2 draw with Iceland and a 2½-1½ final-round win over Albania. Ireland finished 57th, one place below their starting seed of 56.
Five games from the campaign
These are editorial selections for what they show about the team campaign, not a computer ranking of the five objectively best games. Each squad member is represented once. The full move score, controls and White-perspective engine estimates remain available in every native replay.
Amy Stephenson–Antonina Gora, Round 4: the break in the Jamaica win
Antonina Gora already had some pressure, but Amy Stephenson's 36.Rc1 with 2:14 left turned it into a clear advantage. Kf1 was the tougher defence. The verified replay opens near the selected passage: 34.Bd3 34...Nxa2 35.Bc4 35...Nc3 36.Rc1 36...Rxc4 37.bxc4 37...Ne2+ 38.Kf1 38...Nxc1. Official Round 4 boards.
Trisha Kanyamarala–Manar Khalil, Round 6: turning early pressure into a full point
Trisha Kanyamarala already had some pressure, but Manar Khalil's 11...d5 turned it into a clear advantage. a6 was the tougher defence. The verified replay opens near the selected passage: 27...Rg8 28.Rh7+ 28...Rg7 29.Rh6 29...Kg8 30.Nxg6 30...Re8 31.Qh5 31...Rf7 32.Rh8+. Official Round 6 boards.
Diana Mirza–Naomi Maklakova, Round 7: a 145-point tactical upset
A tactical game from the opening, with chances passing both ways. Diana Mirza had to win it more than once: 23...Qxa4 gave her a major opportunity, 24.Bxb7+ gave it back, and 30...Rhb8 handed her control again. Mirza converted for a 145-point rating upset. The verified replay opens near the selected passage: 21...h5 22.Rxb7 22...Nxb7 23.Bxa6 23...Qxa4 24.Bxb7+ 24...Kd7 25.Ba6 25...Qa5 26.Be1. Official Round 7 boards.
Alice O'Gorman–Agnesa Stepania Ter-Avetisjana, Round 7: a 184-point upset in the same match
This was not one-way traffic. Agnesa Stepania Ter-Avetisjana's 26...Kb8 gave Alice O'Gorman the opening, but 27.Be1 let much of it go; 27...Rd6 returned the chance immediately. O'Gorman then kept control and completed a 184-point rating upset. The verified replay opens near the selected passage: 24...Qa4 25.Rab1 25...a6 26.Rfc1 26...Kb8 27.Be1 27...Rd6 28.Rc5 28...Nc7 29.Ra5. Official Round 7 boards.
Eglantina Shabanaj–Lara Putar, Round 11: the attack that helped beat Albania
Putar punished Eglantina Shabanaj's 10.Qe1 with 10...Nxd4. After 11.exd4 Bxb5, the bishop also took the rook on f1. Putar kept the attack moving and finished with 27...Rf2+, leaving White facing mate. It was a direct, decisive contribution to Ireland's final match win. The verified replay opens near the selected passage: 8.Bb5 8...Bd7 9.O-O 9...O-O 10.Qe1 10...Nxd4 11.exd4 11...Bxb5 12.Ne5 12...Bxf1. Official Round 11 boards.
Individual contributions
| Player | Rating | Games | Score | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WCM Antonina Gora | 1946 | 8 | 4 | 50.0% |
| WFM Diana Mirza | 1950 | 8 | 4½ | 56.2% |
| WFM Lara Putar | 1975 | 9 | 4 | 44.4% |
| Alice O'Gorman | 2009 | 9 | 4½ | 50.0% |
| WGM Trisha Kanyamarala | 2289 | 10 | 6½ | 65.0% |
Assessment (editorial judgement): The final rank was almost exactly in line with seed, but the tournament contained more movement than that suggests. Ireland won six matches, produced two significant upsets in the same Round 7 victory over Latvia, and ended with Lara Putar contributing a direct attacking win to the decisive final match.
Match by match
| Round | Opponent | Score | Match points after round |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Myanmar | 4-0 | 2 |
| 2 | Germany | 0-4 | 2 |
| 3 | Nicaragua | 3½-½ | 4 |
| 4 | Jamaica | 3½-½ | 6 |
| 5 | Iran | ½-3½ | 6 |
| 6 | Syria | 3-1 | 8 |
| 7 | Latvia | 3-1 | 10 |
| 8 | Israel | ½-3½ | 10 |
| 9 | Turkiye | 1-3 | 10 |
| 10 | Iceland | 2-2 | 11 |
| 11 | Albania | 2½-1½ | 13 |
Round numbers open the final official board records. Final Women standings.
Sources and game records
- Chess-Results: Ireland Women composition, player totals and eleven match scores.
- Chess-Results: final Women standings.
- Complete Ireland Women Lichess Study. The five selected games were legally replayed into native boards and independently checked against the stored final round records. Every position carries a genuine Stockfish 16 estimate at 50,000 nodes per position, White POV.
Ireland Women team page · Results · Standings · Olympiad hub