Chess Olympiad 2026

Open section
Standings
KSA
Seeded 140, category D
5 won, 0 drawn, 6 lost
Also in the Women section
Saudi Arabia as a nation

Saudi Arabia

In numbers

134

place of 206 after round 11

10

match points from 11 matches

19

game points; TB1 149½, TB3 104

1952

average rating

Roster

Board	Player	Rating	Games	Score	Perf.	±	Favourite
1	FM Ahmed Abdullah S Alrehaili	2106	11	5½	2217	+33
2	Mohammed Fahad M Alsemail	1982	9	4	2141	+22
3	Mohammed Dhaidan N Alotaibi	1868	7	2½	2080	+23
4	Yazeed Alshnaiber	1866	9	3½	1994	+18
5	Emad Khayat	1939	8	3½	1992	+9

Boards follow the order the players have appeared in, as the team list keeps it; board 5 is the reserve. Games and scores count played games only. Performance and rating change come from Lichess. A name opens the player’s page.

Who carries the team

Each board from the player’s rating (hollow) to the performance so far (filled); red, the largest lift, grey, a board below its rating. The grey line is the team’s average rating, the score closes the row. A performance on few games moves a long way.

Matches

Round 1 v Lithuania LTU

0–4

Lost, 0 match pointsWhite on board 1

1FM Ahmed Abdullah S Alrehaili 21060GM Paulius Pultinevicius 25421 2GM Tomas Laurusas 25361Mohammed Fahad M Alsemail 19820 3Mohammed Dhaidan N Alotaibi 18680IM Pijus Stremavicius 23621 4IM Gleb Pidluznij 24101Yazeed Alshnaiber 18660

Round 2 v Dominica DMA

4–0

Won, 2 match pointsBlack on board 1

1Nicholas Goldberg 15960FM Ahmed Abdullah S Alrehaili 21061 2Mohammed Dhaidan N Alotaibi 18681CM Nigel Francis 17700 3Robert Bridet 16790Yazeed Alshnaiber 18661 4Emad Khayat 19391Larry Thomas 17100

Round 3 v Nigeria NGR

1½–2½

Lost, 0 match pointsBlack on board 1

1FM Bomo Lovet Kigigha 2287½FM Ahmed Abdullah S Alrehaili 2106½ 2Mohammed Dhaidan N Alotaibi 1868½FM Abdulrahman Akintoye Abdulraheem 2316½ 3IM Odion Aikhoje 2246½Yazeed Alshnaiber 1866½ 4Emad Khayat 19390Odey Goodness Ekunke 22801

Round 4 v Papua New Guinea PNG

2½–1½

Won, 2 match pointsWhite on board 1

1FM Ahmed Abdullah S Alrehaili 21061FM Stuart Fancy 19230 2Resurrecion Barredo 0Mohammed Fahad M Alsemail 19821 3Mohammed Dhaidan N Alotaibi 18680Ishmael Amnol 1 4CM Tom McCoy 1903½Yazeed Alshnaiber 1866½

Round 5 v Wales WLS

2½–1½

Won, 2 match pointsWhite on board 1

1FM Ahmed Abdullah S Alrehaili 21061IM Jose Camacho Collados 23580 2FM Jonathan L B Blackburn 22390Mohammed Fahad M Alsemail 19821 3Yazeed Alshnaiber 18660CM Ifan Rathbone-Jones 21171 4CM Alex Bullen 2096½Emad Khayat 1939½

Round 6 v Japan JPN

1–3

Lost, 0 match pointsBlack on board 1

1IM Thanh Tu Tran 24061FM Ahmed Abdullah S Alrehaili 21060 2Mohammed Fahad M Alsemail 1982½IM Ryosuke Nanjo 2299½ 3IM Shinya Kojima 22731Yazeed Alshnaiber 18660 4Emad Khayat 1939½FM Kohei Yamada 2203½

Round 7 v Sudan SUD

1–3

Lost, 0 match pointsWhite on board 1

1FM Ahmed Abdullah S Alrehaili 21060IM Omar Eltigani 22591 2FM Ahmed Hassan 21900Mohammed Fahad M Alsemail 19821 3Yazeed Alshnaiber 18660FM Mohamed Abdalla Abdelazeez 21691 4CM Siddig Eltag 21491Emad Khayat 19390

Round 8 v Jamaica JAM

3–1

Won, 2 match pointsBlack on board 1

1FM Joshua Christie 22160FM Ahmed Abdullah S Alrehaili 21061 2Mohammed Fahad M Alsemail 1982½FM Shreyas Smith 2272½ 3FM Raheem Glaves 21270Mohammed Dhaidan N Alotaibi 18681 4Emad Khayat 1939½CM Akeem Brown 2072½

Round 9 v Guatemala GUA

½–3½

Lost, 0 match pointsWhite on board 1

1FM Ahmed Abdullah S Alrehaili 2106½FM Winston Darwin Cu Hor 2330½ 2IM Carlos A. Juarez Flores 22941Mohammed Fahad M Alsemail 19820 3Mohammed Dhaidan N Alotaibi 18680FM Ricardo Andres Ordonez Bonilla 21391 4FM Gustavo Adolfo Monroy Lopez 20741Emad Khayat 19390

Round 10 v Morocco MAR

½–3½

Lost, 0 match pointsBlack on board 1

1FM Mohamed-Mehdi Aithmidou 22551FM Ahmed Abdullah S Alrehaili 21060 2Mohammed Fahad M Alsemail 19820CM Yasser Hadj Kholti 22381 3Nidal Ghanoui 21121Mohammed Dhaidan N Alotaibi 18680 4Yazeed Alshnaiber 1866½Abdeslam Zarkik 2067½

Round 11 v Antigua and Barbuda ANT

2½–1½

Won, 2 match pointsBlack on board 1

1FM Guillermo Queipo Caballero 2218½FM Ahmed Abdullah S Alrehaili 2106½ 2Mohammed Fahad M Alsemail 19820CM Abner Farquhar 17591 3Adrian Jr. Kim 18100Yazeed Alshnaiber 18661 4Emad Khayat 19391Vendiz Charles 17010

Team awards

Whitewash

Round 2
Saudi Arabia KSA4Dominica DMA0

Won the match 4–0, forfeits included.

Thrill Ride

7eval swings

Round 4
Saudi Arabia KSA2½Papua New Guinea PNG1½

The match with the most swings between a one-pawn lead for White and one for Black over its four boards; every board needs Lichess's full analysis.

Slingshot

229points lower on average

Round 5
Saudi Arabia KSA2½Wales WLS1½

Won a match against the team that looked strongest on paper: the largest gap in average rating, all four boards played and rated.

Slingshot

198points lower on average

Round 8
Saudi Arabia KSA3Jamaica JAM1

Won a match against the team that looked strongest on paper: the largest gap in average rating, all four boards played and rated.

Deep Thinkers

3:12per move

Round 9, 129 moves timed in 4 games
Saudi Arabia KSA

Most seconds per move over the team's games with usable clocks.