Uzbekistan Life & Culture - The Times Of Central Asia

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Chess

Will Host Uzbekistan Be the “Most Dangerous Team” at the Chess Olympiad?

Some 400 teams have been confirmed for the FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, next month, an increase of 20 teams over the previous record number that competed at the Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary two years ago. In the open section, the United States is the top seed with Fabiano Caruana leading the five-player team, while India will aim to defend its 2024 title with Arjun Erigaisi at the head of its lineup, according to FIDE, the international governing body of chess. “The host nation might be the most dangerous team in Samarkand,” FIDE said this week. Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov, winner of the prestigious Candidates Tournament in April, leads the team, ahead of Nodirbek Abdusattorov, another of the world’s top players. Nodirbek Yakubboev, Shamsiddin Vokhidov, Madaminov will also play for Uzbekistan, which won the Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India in 2022 and took bronze in Budapest. China is also fielding a strong team in the open section, while Germany is seeded fifth. The gender-neutral category is called open because women have occasionally participated in male-dominated chess events. In the women’s competition in Samarkand, India is the top seed with Humpy Koneru at the head of the team, followed by Georgia, China, Kazakhstan and the U.S., according to FIDE. Kazakhstan’s female chess players have been progressing strongly in recent years, finishing fifth at the Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India in 2022, and second in Budapest in 2024. Bibisara Asaubayeva, who was second at the women’s Candidates tournament this year, leads her squad, followed by Alua Nurman, Meruert Kamalidenova, Elnaz Kaliakhmet and Zarina Nurgaliyeva. Host Uzbekistan is seeded 13th on the women’s side in Samarkand. The Chess Olympiad will feature 11 rounds of classical chess from September 16 to 27.

Uzbekistan Football

Uzbekistan National Team Set for Youth Overhaul After World Cup, Says Cannavaro

Uzbekistan head coach Fabio Cannavaro has outlined plans to reshape the national team following its historic debut at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, saying the next phase will focus on refreshing the squad ahead of the AFC Asian Cup, promoting younger players and restoring the tactical approach he believes best suits the team. Speaking at a press briefing, the Italian coach dismissed reports that he had left the national team immediately after the World Cup, saying he remained with the squad until the last player departed. Cannavaro also rejected speculation about his salary and said he was prepared to take responsibility for the team's results, while defending his players against criticism, insisting they had "given everything" on the pitch. The central announcement of the briefing was confirmation that Uzbekistan is entering a new cycle. Cannavaro said several players had been included in the World Cup squad in recognition of their contribution to securing the country's first-ever qualification for the tournament, but added that the time had come to refresh the team. "I gave some players a kind of bonus for what they had done before. That bonus is over. Now we need to change some players," Cannavaro said. He added that younger footballers would be given greater opportunities during preparations for the Asian Cup. Cannavaro also acknowledged that not every decision made by the coaching staff had been successful. In particular, he admitted he may have made a mistake by changing the first-choice goalkeeper shortly before the World Cup began. At the same time, he stressed that he remained committed to rejuvenating the squad and creating stronger competition for places. Looking beyond the immediate future, Cannavaro argued that Uzbekistan's next step as a football nation depends on more players establishing themselves in Europe's top leagues. He pointed to Japan and Morocco as examples of national teams that have benefited from players gaining experience in elite European competitions before bringing that experience back to the international stage. As part of preparations for the AFC Asian Cup, Cannavaro said he wants Uzbekistan to arrange a series of friendlies against stronger opponents, including South Korea and Iran. He also plans to gradually return the team to a 4-3-3 formation and strengthen cooperation with the country's youth national teams. According to Cannavaro, the objective is not simply to build on Uzbekistan's first World Cup appearance, but to establish the national team as a regular participant at the world's biggest international tournaments.

Opinion

Uzbekistan’s Heritage Did Not Stop With the Silk Road

When people think of Uzbekistan’s architectural heritage, the images are familiar: the turquoise domes of Samarkand, the madrasas of Bukhara, Khiva’s walled city, and the monuments of Shakhrisabz. But Uzbekistan’s history did not stop with the Silk Road. At its 48th session in July, UNESCO inscribed “Tashkent Modernist Architecture. Modernity and Tradition in Central Asia” on the World Heritage List. The new site brings together ten buildings and urban complexes constructed between the 1960s and the early 1990s, during the period in which Tashkent was dramatically rebuilt following the 1966 earthquake. The inscription deserves to be celebrated. More importantly, it expands the definition of what Uzbek heritage can be. [caption id="attachment_52926" align="aligncenter" width="1774"] Kosmonavtlar Metro Station, Tashkent; photo: Mathieu Lemoine[/caption] These buildings do not belong to the world of caravanserais and Timurid courts. They represent another layer of the country’s history: the ambitious and highly creative transformation of Soviet-era Tashkent. For decades, Central Asian heritage has often been viewed through a chronological hierarchy. The older a monument, the easier it is to recognize as heritage. Timurid architecture is obviously precious. A concrete building from the 1970s can appear more expendable. Tashkent shows why that distinction is too simple. UNESCO notes that the architecture developed after the earthquake combined industrialized construction and seismic engineering with local climatic, cultural and material conditions. The result was not simply Soviet modernism transplanted to Central Asia, but a distinct architectural language adapted to Tashkent. This broader understanding of heritage comes at an important moment. Uzbekistan is modernizing rapidly. Its cities are growing, tourism is expanding, infrastructure is improving and redevelopment is transforming urban space. Much of this change is necessary and welcome. Historic neighborhoods cannot be expected to function as open-air museums. Residents need reliable drinking water, sewage systems, heating, electricity, internet access, waste collection, accessibility, safe streets and comfortable housing. A leaking pipe is not “authenticity.” The more difficult question is how modernization takes place. [caption id="attachment_52925" align="aligncenter" width="1774"] Tashkent Modernist State Museum of History; photo: Mathieu Lemoine[/caption] Uzbekistan has already experienced how delicate that balance can be. In Shakhrisabz, large-scale redevelopment substantially altered the historic urban fabric. The historic center was placed on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger in 2016 and remains there today. The experience offers an important lesson: preserving monuments is not necessarily the same as preserving a city. A city can retain its most famous madrasa, mosque or mausoleum while losing part of its heritage if the streets, neighborhoods, businesses and communities surrounding them disappear. The pressure is not only architectural. As tourism grows and historic centers become more desirable, economic incentives change. Houses can become hotels and restaurants. Businesses serving residents can give way to businesses serving visitors. Traditional workshops can struggle with higher costs. Redevelopment can create pressure on residents to relocate. Bukhara illustrates why this is important. Its identity rests not only on monumental architecture but on a living economy of craftsmanship. Gold embroidery, ceramics, jewelry, woodwork and other trades remain sources of employment as well as cultural identity....

FIFA World Cup

Uzbekistan’s Shomurodov Shortlisted for World Cup Goal Award

Uzbekistan captain Eldor Shomurodov’s goal against the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been shortlisted for the Hyundai Goal of the Tournament award at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Uzbek forward is among 12 finalists selected by FIFA. The winner will be decided by a public vote on FIFA’s official platform. Shomurodov scored in Uzbekistan’s final group-stage match, lifting the ball over goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi from a tight angle to give his team an early lead. DR Congo recovered to win the match 3-1, ending Uzbekistan’s first World Cup campaign with three defeats. The goal had already won the vote for the best strike of the group stage. Shomurodov received 36% of the ballots, finishing ahead of Haiti’s Wilson Isidor and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Kerim Alajbegovic. Lionel Messi and Vinicius Junior were also among the players he beat in the opening round of voting. The final shortlist brings together goals scored at different stages of the tournament. Shomurodov is competing with some of world football’s biggest names, including Messi and Kylian Mbappe. Jude Bellingham is also among the finalists. Voting is due to remain open until July 27. The 31-year-old striker plays for İstanbul Başakşehir. He moved to Turkey from AS Roma in the summer of 2025, and his contract with the club runs until June 30, 2028. Shomurodov finished the 2025/26 Turkish Süper Lig season as joint top scorer with Trabzonspor forward Paul Onuachu. Both scored 22 goals. Transfermarkt currently values the Uzbek forward at €7 million. Uzbekistan was the only Central Asian country to qualify for the 2026 World Cup and the first from the region to reach the final tournament. Although the team failed to advance from its group, Shomurodov’s goal gave the country one of the most widely recognized moments of the competition. At club level, Kairat Almaty became only the second Kazakhstan club to reach the UEFA Champions League league phase in 2025, after Astana in 2015. The league-phase draw paired Kairat with Real Madrid and Inter Milan. Arsenal was also among its opponents. The achievement matched the deepest run by a Central Asian club in Europe’s premier club competition.

Podcast

Pannier and Hillard’s Spotlight on Central Asia: New Episode Out Now

As Managing Editor of The Times of Central Asia, I’m delighted that, in partnership with the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs, from October 19, we are the home of the Spotlight on Central Asia podcast. Chaired by seasoned broadcasters Bruce Pannier of RFE/RL’s long-running Majlis podcast and Michael Hillard of The Red Line, each fortnightly instalment will take you on a deep dive into the latest news, developments, security issues, and social trends across an increasingly pivotal region. This week, the team covers a heatwave sweeping across Central Asia, anti-Taliban forces briefly seizing a district headquarters in a worrying sign of cracks in the Taliban's control, a shootout between different branches of Kyrgyzstan's security forces near the Uzbek border, promising new talks between Turkmenistan and Georgia, and a major shake-up inside Uzbekistan's presidential security services. Before then turning to our main story this week, where a growing number of countries are working with Central Asian governments to forcibly return Central Asian nationals, often into incredibly dangerous situations. - Steve Swedlow (Associate Professor of the Practice of Human Rights) - Bakhtiyor "Bakh" Safarov (Central Asia Consulting)

Astronomy

Two Asteroids Named After Uzbek Astronomers

Two Uzbek astronomers have received an unusual form of international recognition: their names have been assigned to minor planets orbiting the Sun. The International Astronomical Union’s Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature approved (121339) Otabekburkhonov and (131358) Kamolergashev in its July 9 bulletin. The names will now be used in scientific catalogues and research. Both asteroids were discovered at the Ondřejov Observatory in the Czech Republic by astronomers Petr Pravec and Peter Kušnirák. Otabekburkhonov, first known as 1999 TO15, was found on October 13, 1999. Kamolergashev, previously 2001 KA2, was discovered on May 19, 2001. Otabek Burkhonov, born in 1975, joined the Ulugh Beg Astronomical Institute in 2000 and received his PhD in 2005. He heads the institute’s Laboratory of Galactic Astronomy. His work covers optical photometry, including asteroid light curves, variable stars, gravitationally lensed quasars, and follow-up observations of gamma-ray bursts at Maidanak Observatory. Kamoliddin Ergashev, born in 1988, joined the institute’s Asteroid Group in 2007 and completed his PhD in 2024. His research examines asteroid brightness and rotation, physical characteristics, and the behavior of asteroid pairs, clusters, and binary systems. The two scientists also contributed to NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), the first mission to demonstrate asteroid deflection through a deliberate spacecraft impact. Their observations from Maidanak helped measure changes in the Didymos-Dimorphos system before and after the September 2022 collision. In February, both received a NASA Group Achievement Award for their role in the international observing campaign. DART shortened Dimorphos’s orbit around Didymos by about 33 minutes, showing that a kinetic impact could alter an asteroid’s motion.