Tanzania’s women’s and Open teams secured their first points at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, after recording positive results in the third round yesterday.
The women’s team produced the more emphatic result, defeating Papua New Guinea 4-0 after all four players won their individual games, earning Tanzania two match points.
The result gives the women’s side a boost as it prepares for the fourth round, where Tanzania will face Côte d’Ivoire.
The Open team, meanwhile, drew 2-2 with Cape Verde after two players won and two lost, earning the side one match point.
Tanzania’s Open team will face Kiribati in the fourth round, with the Pacific island nation set to provide the next test for the team.
The Open side will retain the players who featured in the previous rounds, while the women’s team will make one change, with reserve player Maryam Gwae set to make her Olympiad debut in place of Bertha Samson Mkude, who will be rested.
The women’s team comprises Neema Adam Kasanga, Lissa Joseph, Anahi Shah and Mkude, with Gwae serving as the reserve.
The Open team consists of Parsa Nassar Boleidei, Henry Michael Marwa, Farqad Abeid and Patrick Sarota, while Rashid Mansour Sharif is the reserve player.
Tanzania’s women began their campaign against Uzbekistan III before facing Barbados in the second round. In that match, Tanzania’s 2026 women’s champion Anahi Shah drew with Barbados’ Julisa Figueroa, who had a rating of 1772, compared with Shah’s 1511.
The Open team started its campaign against South Korea before facing Namibia in the second round and then drawing 2-2 with Cape Verde.
The Chess Olympiad features 11 rounds, with each team fielding four players in every match.
A match win earns two points, a draw one point and a defeat no points. Individual game points are also used as a tiebreaker when teams finish level on match points.
With eight rounds remaining, both Tanzanian teams will be seeking to build on their third-round performances and collect more points as the competition progresses.