Igor Samunenkov, who recently turned 17, won a gold medal in the individual standings of the World Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. Playing on the fourth board, he showed the highest tournament rating performance among all players in that position.
In ten games played, Samunenkov scored 8 points and did not lose once. Silver for performance went to the reigning world champion from India, Gukesh Dommaraju, and bronze to the American Levon Aronian.
Second major award of the year
For Samunenkov, this is already his second individual medal at major team competitions. Earlier in 2025, he won gold on the reserve board as part of the Ukrainian national team at the European Team Championship.
In the team standings of the Olympiad, the Ukrainian men's national team finished in 11th place. The Ukrainian women's national team took 20th place.
