USA v Uzbekistan match foreshadows chess battle for Olympiad top prize

Two of the top four chess nations will go head to head in Miami on 27-28 JulyUSA and Uzbekistan, along with India and China, possess the world’s current four best chess teams, so the announcement that the pair will meet at Miami on 27-28 July in an all-play-all rapid and blitz Scheveningen format is sure to create interest as a guide to what may happen when the 200-nation classical Olympiad takes place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan between 15-27 September. Full details of the forthcoming match are here.The two teams in Miami will both be at virtually full strength. USA will field the world Nos 2 and 3, Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura, plus the world No 7, Wesley So, and world Nos 17 and 22, Leinier Domínguez and Levon Aronian. Only the world No 19, Hans Niemann, might have made it stronger.