Overview
- Several teams, including India, landed for the opening day and on Tuesday faced long waits at Samarkand airport with inadequate room allocations that forced players to share rooms or book hotels themselves.
- FIDE issued a public apology and said that, while accommodation is the Local Organizing Committee’s responsibility, it found additional funds to help affected federations.
- The federation confirmed it will reimburse teams that secured their own rooms for up to three days and will pay extra compensation to teams housed in official hotels that do not meet FIDE-approved standards.
- The All India Chess Federation intervened on the ground and hotel staff arranged rooms by late evening, but the practical steps for reimbursements and any LOC accountability remain to be completed.
- The episode raises reputational and operational questions for the Samarkand Olympiad and matters for watch, since India arrived as defending double champions and organisers are expected to meet strict accommodation standards at major events.