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World Nomad Games

Kazakhstan Tops World Nomad Games Amid Conflicting Medal Counts

Kazakhstan finished at the top of the 2026 World Nomad Games medal standings, although conflicting published results have left questions over the final tally. According to the rules, the team with the most gold medals wins. The sixth edition ended in Kyrgyzstan on September 6, following a week of traditional sports around Issyk-Kul. The Games opened in Bishkek on August 31 before competition moved to venues around Cholpon Ata and Kyrchyn. Qazinform reported that Kazakhstan finished with 32 gold medals and 74 medals overall. Kyrgyzstan placed second despite collecting more medals in total, because gold medals determined the rankings. The outlet credited the host nation with 84 medals, including 30 gold. It placed Russia third with 36 medals and Mongolia fourth with 21. Uzbekistan completed its top five with 19 medals. Kyrgyzstan’s presidential press secretary, Askat Alagozov, acknowledged a “technical discrepancy” in the count on September 7, according to state news agency Kabar. He said the organizing committee decided to count the medals of three Kazakh athletes separately, putting Kazakhstan first in the overall team standings. “We congratulate our Kazakh brothers on their victory!” Alagozov said. He emphasized that the Games’ main achievement was bringing the two peoples together through mutual respect and fair competition. A further report carried by Asia News Network says Mongolia finished fourth with 26 medals. That differs from the 21 medals reported by Qazinform. These differences do not establish that medals were wrongly awarded, but they do mean the available accounts cannot be combined into a definitive final table. For Kazakhstan, the closing day proved decisive. Its athletes added six gold medals as the country secured first place. Alagozov’s statement confirmed Kazakhstan’s first place, although published medal totals still differ. Kabar also reported that the Games’ media headquarters said no official medal or overall team standings were maintained between countries.

Elena Rybakina

Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina To Become World No. 1

Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan has secured the No. 1 ranking for the first time in her career after defeating Zheng Qinwen of China in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open on Wednesday. Rybakina, 27, is the first man or woman from Kazakhstan to ascend to the top of the rankings, according to the WTA. She overtakes Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and will officially become the new No. 1 in singles when the updated rankings are released after the U.S. Open on September 14, the WTA said. Moscow-born Rybakina said she dreamed of becoming the world’s top-ranked player since she was a young girl. "I’m so proud of this moment,” she said in remarks that were posted by the WTA. “I want to thank my whole team for their support and being able to celebrate this achievement with me." President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan congratulated Rybakina, commending her for her talent, hard work, self- belief, and “exemplary conduct” on and off the court. “With this remarkable achievement, you have brought great pride to Kazakhstan and inscribed your name in the history of world tennis. Your journey inspires thousands of young athletes in our country and millions of tennis fans around the globe,” Tokayev said. Rybakina has had particularly strong results over the last year, winning the 2025 WTA Finals title as well as the second Grand Slam title of her career at the 2026 Australian Open. She won Wimbledon in 2022. The Kazakh beat Zheng 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. She was down 3-4 in the third set and faced a break point that would have put Zheng in a commanding position and serving for the match. But Rybakina turned things around with a run of points and is now in her first U.S. Open semifinal.

Cultural Heritage

The Art of the Witty Reply: How Uzbek Askiya Works

Imagine two people standing before an audience. One throws out a joke. The other has only a few seconds to grasp the meaning, pick up the wordplay, and fire back – preferably with something even sharper. The first responds again. Hesitate, miss the implication, or simply fail to make the audience laugh, and the round is lost. That is how askiya works – a traditional Uzbek contest of wit in which the conversation cannot be scripted in advance. In 2014, UNESCO inscribed askiya on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. But the genre lives on beyond festivals and recordings of old masters. Today, schoolchildren compete in askiya, young performers learn from their elders, and short performances circulate on social media. The Joke Is Only the Beginning Askiya usually involves two or more participants. They choose a common theme, one begins, and the others respond by seizing on words, double meanings, and unexpected associations in the previous speaker’s line. There is no time to step away and think of a better answer. A good askiyachi – an askiya performer – needs a keen sense of language, quick reactions, and the ability to instantly recognize where someone else’s thought can be taken. Almost anything can provide material: everyday situations, human habits, relationships, and events familiar to the audience. Humor also makes it possible to address subjects that are not always easy to laugh about in ordinary conversation. Askiya can poke fun at human weaknesses and comment on events around it, but it does so through verbal play rather than moralizing. UNESCO notes that the tradition is particularly closely associated with the Fergana Valley and the Tashkent region. Historically, most practitioners have been men. How Do You Teach Improvisation? The hardest part is passing the skill on to the next generation. A famous comedian’s joke can be memorized. In askiya, that is not enough. A performer has to hear the other person’s line, spot the trap hidden inside it, and find a way out before the audience loses interest. Traditionally, performers learned directly from a master. In Uzbekistan, this principle is known as ustoz-shogird – “master and apprentice.” It is used across many traditional arts, from music to crafts. The system is still at work in the Fergana Valley, one of the main centers of askiya. At a recent regional competition marking the 116th anniversary of Uzbek actor and comedian Soyib Khodjayev, the askiya club from School No. 57 in the city of Karasu took second place. The school of mastery named after Abdulkhay Makhsum Kazakov from Kurgantepa district won first place, while a team from Jalakuduk district finished third. Askiya was judged separately from other comic performances and theatrical miniatures. The distinction matters: a sketch can be rehearsed; a verbal duel cannot. Special schools of mastery also operate in districts of the Fergana region. Young performers train with experienced artists, preserving the traditional method of learning directly from a master. But a paradox remains: how do you teach...

FIDE Chess Olympiad

Samarkand Expects Record Turnout for Chess Olympiad

Samarkand is preparing to host the largest Chess Olympiad yet, with organizers expecting 398 teams as Uzbekistan stages the tournament for the first time in Central Asia. The 46th Chess Olympiad opens on September 15 at the Silk Road International Tourism Center and runs until September 27, with the first round to be played on September 16, according to the official schedule. Organizers say 208 teams will compete in the Open section and 190 in the women’s competition. The expected field of 1,974 players includes 240 grandmasters. More than 4,000 guests are expected when coaches and delegation members are included. That turnout would exceed the 374 teams recorded by FIDE at the 2024 Budapest Olympiad. Both sections will be contested over eleven rounds, with four players competing for each team in every match. Teams may also register one reserve player. The Olympiad dates back to 1927. Its arrival in Samarkand brings the competition to a historic Silk Road city whose center is inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Uzbekistan enters the Open competition as the third seed, according to the organizers’ figures based on average team ratings. The United States leads the seedings, ahead of defending champions India. The U.S. team includes Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, and Levon Aronian, while Hans Niemann is set to make his Olympiad debut. Vincent Keymer will represent Germany, and France’s squad includes Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. For Uzbekistan, Javokhir Sindarov and Nodirbek Abdusattorov bring top-ten credentials to the home challenge. Sindarov is fourth in FIDE’s September rankings, while Abdusattorov is seventh. The rankings cited by the organizers also place Nodirbek Yakubboev 39th and Shamsiddin Vokhidov 61st, giving the main squad four players among the world’s top 100. Former FIDE world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov has also been named in the main Open lineup. His inclusion adds experience to a squad built around Uzbekistan’s younger grandmasters. The hosts will field three teams in each section, opening places for emerging players. Nilufarkhon Imomkuziyeva and Khumoyun Begmurodov, both 16, are among those making their Olympiad debuts. In the women’s competition, Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova is set to represent Uzbekistan after playing for the United States at the 2024 Budapest Olympiad. Nafisa Muminova, Uzbekistan’s first woman grandmaster, will serve as captain. The organizers cite Afruza Khamdamova’s position at 26th in the women’s world rankings, with Tokhirjonova 80th. Uzbekistan’s women have climbed 17 places since 2025 to 21st in FIDE’s federation rankings, while the Open side has risen 15 places to sixth. India is the top seed in the women’s competition. Kazakhstan’s lineup includes three-time women’s world blitz champion Bibisara Assaubayeva, who also won Norway Chess Women 2026, securing the title in Oslo with a round to spare. Ukraine’s first board will be 16-year-old Anastasiia Hnatyshyn, who won the European Women’s Championship in June after entering the tournament as the 76th seed. Samarkand will also host the third FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities from September 10 to 18. Organizers expect a record 41 teams, compared with 26 at the inaugural event in...

Direct Flights

Uzbekistan Announces Direct Flights to Mauritius, Starting in December

Uzbekistan’s tourism industry is opening a new African market. On December 26, direct flights on the Tashkent-Mauritius route will start for the first time, also strengthening the Uzbek capital’s potential as a transit hub linking Central Asian and other regional countries with Mauritius, Uzbekistan’s state Tourism Committee said on Monday. “According to the plan, at the initial stage, a total of four round-trip flights on the Tashkent–Mauritius route will operate on December 26 and in January. Starting from June 2027, regular flights on this route are planned to operate once a week,” said the committee, which didn’t identify an airline. The FlyCentralAsia platform, which covers aviation in the region, reported that there will be four charter flights on December 26, as well as January 3 and 11, and an additional date in January. It reported that Uzbek tour operator Prestige Travel is organizing the flights on Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft operated by Uzbekistan Airways. The direct flight is expected to take about 8.5 hours, significantly shorter than trips with connections in Dubai or Istanbul, according to FlyCentralAsia. Uzbekistan’s Tourism Committee said it collaborated with Prestige Travel to host talks among representatives of the tourism industries of both Uzbekistan and Mauritius. Prestige Travel founder Oybek Akhmedov said the new flights will increase “mutual tourist flows,” according to the tourism committee. Akhmedov said Muslim travelers from the island nation in the Indian Ocean will be able to enjoy Uzbekistan’s cultural and Islamic heritage sites, as well as culinary traditions. Mauritius, in turn, would offer warm weather, beaches and lush landscapes to Central Asian tourists keen for a break from the harsh winter. The Mauritius initiative is being launched under Uzbekistan’s “Open Tourist Season” program, which provides subsidies for airlines opening new international routes to Uzbekistan, as well as financial benefits for local tour operators attracting tourists from long-haul international markets. Uzbekistan is seeking to expand ties with Africa. Uzbekistan Airways and Air Samarkand currently operate direct flights between Tashkent and Sharm el-Sheikh, the popular beach resort in Egypt. Uzbek diplomats have also held separate meetings with representatives of Ethiopia and South Africa to discuss the simplification of visa procedures, which would make it easier to travel between the Central Asian and African countries, the Dunyo news agency reported in July. Dunyo is the official agency of Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Contemporary Art

From Bukhara to Venice: How Uzbekistan Is Building a Contemporary Art Scene

Uzbekistan has long known how to attract foreign visitors with its past – Samarkand, Bukhara, the Silk Road, and Islamic architecture. Now the country is trying to interest the world in what it is creating today. In just a few years, Uzbekistan has launched the Bukhara Biennial and established a national pavilion at the Venice Biennale. On September 6, the country’s first permanent center for contemporary art opened in Tashkent. The Centre for Contemporary Arts Tashkent (CCA Tashkent) occupies a 1912 industrial building that once served as a diesel station and tram depot. French architecture firm Studio KO preserved its industrial character while incorporating local materials and craft techniques. Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, chairperson of Qatar Museums, attended the opening. Three days earlier, Qatar Museums and the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation launched a five-year collaboration covering exhibitions and artist residencies, professional development for museum specialists, and work with Islamic heritage. For the young Tashkent center, this offers a route into established international museum networks. Over the past two decades, Qatar has built one of the Middle East’s most prominent museum networks. The connection with Doha could give Tashkent access to artists, curators, and museum networks developed over years. [caption id="attachment_55705" align="aligncenter" width="819"] Image: ccat.uz[/caption] The Foundation Behind the Push One organization stands behind several of Uzbekistan’s major contemporary art projects: the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF). It organizes the Bukhara Biennial, oversees the new center in Tashkent, and presents the country’s national pavilion at the Venice Biennale. The foundation was established in 2017 and now operates within the Presidential Administration. It is headed by Gayane Umerova, who also leads the administration’s Department of Creative Economy and Tourism. The foundation’s projects have also received support from Saida Mirziyoyeva, head of the Presidential Administration. That context helps explain where the funding and scale come from. Contemporary art in Uzbekistan is developing with direct state support, while exhibitions and biennials have become part of a broader effort to reshape the country’s cultural image abroad. Bukhara provided the first major test. In 2025, the ancient city hosted its first contemporary art biennial, Recipes for Broken Hearts. Works were installed among madrasas, mosques, and other buildings in Bukhara’s historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to the organizers, the biennial drew more than 1.8 million visitors over its run. It was an unusual experiment for the region: contemporary art was not separated from the architecture that has drawn tourists to Bukhara for decades, but placed directly inside it. Tashkent is trying something different. Here, artists now have a permanent space where they can not only exhibit but also work. [caption id="attachment_55708" align="alignnone" width="1024"] ccat.uz[/caption] From Uzbek Ceramics to Kimsooja The center’s inaugural exhibition is called Hikmah – “Wisdom.” Curated by the center’s chief curator, Sara Raza, it explores craft, memory, material, and knowledge passed between generations. Among the participating artists is Shokhrukh Rakhimov, who grew up in a family of Uzbek ceramicists. His work continues that tradition...