Team line-ups released in early August for the September 15–28 event in Samarkand place the United States atop the Open seeding with Caruana, So, Niemann, Aronian and Liang, followed immediately by defending champions India (Erigaisi leading, Gukesh on board four), hosts Uzbekistan and China. Average ratings among these four sides sit within a narrow band, reflecting balanced depth across boards and limited separation in recent form or head-to-head results. Germany, Armenia and other contenders trail further back, while the absence of Nakamura from the U.S. roster and board-order tweaks for India and Uzbekistan add marginal uncertainty without shifting the overall hierarchy. Trader pricing therefore clusters tightly around the leading trio, consistent with the closely contested nature of the field.