Fabiano Caruana assessed the United States team's showing at the Chess Olympiad, concluding that gold was never within reach. Speaking with Cristian Chirila on the C-Squared Podcast, Caruana acknowledged that the team's overall performance fell short when measured against the competition, particularly the Uzbek players and other strong squads.

Caruana identified a gap between expectation and execution for most of the American contingent. He stated that while a medal finish remained possible, nearly every player failed to deliver at their best. Levon Aronian emerged as the exception to this pattern, performing solidly throughout the tournament.

The event ran from September 16 to 27 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where the United States finished fourth with seventeen points. Aronian's contribution proved significant, earning a bronze medal for his work on Board 4. Despite the medal hopes materializing to some degree, Caruana's perspective underscores how far the team fell from contending for the top prize.