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Chess

Tata Steel Chess Contest Has A New Champion – From Uzbekistan

When he was a child, Nodirbek Abdusattorov dreamed of winning the elite Tata Steel Chess Tournament in the Netherlands. On Sunday, the 21-year-old from Uzbekistan did just that. Abdusattorov secured the champion´s title after raising his point total to nine, playing with the black pieces in a final round victory over Indian Arjun Erigaisi. Another grandmaster from Uzbekistan, 20-year-old Javokhir Sindarov, came second with eight and a half points. “I can’t express my happiness with words. It was a long way for me,” Abdusattorov said in an interview posted on the tournament website. He said he had come close to winning the contest in previous years, and finally doing so was a highlight of his career. “I had a dream to win this tournament when I was a kid and finally my dream came true,” he said. “I just told myself: ‘Don’t let it slip this year.´” Uzbekistan´s top player had six wins, six draws and one loss in the 13-round tournament. “For three straight years, Nodirbek Abdusattorov was right there on top going into the final weekend. Three times, the title slipped through his fingers. This year, he came back and finished the story. From heartbreak to redemption,” the tournament said on X. Abdusattorov won the FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship in 2021 and was part of the team from Uzbekistan that won gold at the 2022 Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India. FIDE is the international governing body of chess. “I gave everything I had,” Abdusattorov said. “I don’t have plans for celebration but obviously I’m going to do something.” Sindarov had four wins, nine draws and no losses at the Tata Steel event, where he was the only unbeaten player. He won the FIDE World Cup in 2025, qualifying for this year’s Candidates Tournament, which determines who can challenge the world champion. The current champion is India’s Gukesh Dommaraju. Over the years, the Tata Steel tournament in the seaside town of Wijk aan Zee has attracted greats of the game including Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov and Magnus Carlsen. The strong showing by Uzbek players in the 14-participant Masters competition this year shows the growing strength of chess talent in Uzbekistan.

Chess

“We Are Contenders”: Uzbekistan’s Chess Talents Aim High

“Uzbekistan, the new chess superpower?” says the website of Europe Échecs, a French chess publication. The lead article in the January 2026 edition of the monthly magazine focuses on the extraordinary rise of Uzbek chess and shows photos of Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov, two grandmasters from the Central Asian country who were atop the standings early this week in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in the Netherlands. Abdusattorov and Sindarov faced each other in the ninth round on Tuesday, playing to a draw that kept both of them in the lead of the elite contest that ends on February 1 after 13 rounds. Abdusattorov was first with six points, while Sindarov was second with five and a half points. However, the race is tightening -- Sindarov now shares second place with 14-year-old Turkish prodigy Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş and Dutch player Jorden van Foreest. Sometimes called the “Wimbledon of chess,” the Tata Steel event in the seaside town of Wijk aan Zee has attracted the game’s greats over many years. They have included Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov and Magnus Carlsen. The presence of two Uzbek players in the 14-participant Masters competition this year is a testament to the depth of top-tier talent in Uzbekistan, which is challenging India and other top chess nations in the world. Born in Tashkent, 21-year-old Abdusattorov became a grandmaster at the age of 13 and is ranked twelth in the world with a rating of 2751. He has previously competed in the Tata Steel event, finishing in the top three in the last three years, according to the tournament. He won the FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship in 2021 and was part of the team from Uzbekistan that won gold at the 2022 Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India. FIDE is the international governing body of chess. “It made us realize that we aren't just ‘participants´ anymore; we are contenders,” Rayhona O'ktamova of Uzbekistan wrote in a Chess.com blog titled: “Why Everyone is Suddenly Talking About Uzbekistan.” “What I love most isn't just the trophies, it's how the atmosphere in our country changed,” O´ktamova said. “Before, if a kid said ‘I want to be a professional chess player,´ parents might say, ‘Maybe study something more serious?´ But now? You see kids in every park with a board. Chess has become our ‘national sport.´ It’s our art, our marathon, and our pride.” Sindarov, who was also born in Tashkent, is another high performer. The 20-year-old was 12 when he became a grandmaster and now has a world ranking of 21 and a rating of 2726. He won the FIDE World Cup in 2025, qualifying for this year’s Candidates Tournament, which determines who can challenge the world champion. The current champion is India’s Gukesh Dommaraju. “I hope this is just the beginning — the victories of Uzbek chess will only grow from here,” Sindarov said after winning the FIDE World Cup. Alongside Abdusattorov, Sindarov was also in Uzbekistan’s winning team at the 2022 Chess Olympiad. The city of...

Chess

Uzbek Chess Surges at Elite Tata Steel Event in Netherlands

Uzbek grandmasters Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov lead in the standings after the half-way mark in the prestigious Tata Steel Chess Tournament, currently underway in the Netherlands. Abdusattorov is in the top position with five and a half points after key victories in the Masters category, benefiting in the sixth round from a blunder by world champion Gukesh Dommaraju that cost the Indian a rook and led him to resign soon afterward. Abdusattorov then beat top seed Vincent Keymer of Germany in the seventh round, though he lost in the next game to Anish Giri of the Netherlands. The Uzbek grandmaster has won four games and drawn three times. Sindarov is unbeaten in second place with five points, after two wins and six draws. Hans Niemann of the United States is third in the standings with four and a half points. Players get one point for a win, half a point for a draw and zero points for a loss. The Tata Steel tournament, one of the toughest chess events of the year, runs from January 16 to February 1 in the seaside town of Wijk aan Zee. Round nine starts on Tuesday. There are a total of 13 rounds.

Chess

Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva Wins Third World Blitz Chess Championship

Kazakh chess star Bibisara Assaubayeva has claimed her third women’s world blitz title, emerging victorious at the 2025 World Blitz Championship in Doha. The win secures her a direct place in the 2026 Candidates Tournament, set to take place in Cyprus in April. Assaubayeva reaffirmed her dominance in women’s chess by defeating Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk 2.5-1.5 in the final. After three consecutive draws, she clinched the title in the decisive fourth game by capitalizing on a strategic advantage. The 21-year-old first rose to prominence in 2021, when she won the blitz title in Warsaw at just 17, becoming the youngest champion in the tournament’s history. She defended her crown in 2022 at the home championship in Almaty, solidifying her position among the elite in women’s chess. Her 2025 win in Doha marked the culmination of a strong performance throughout the 2024-2025 FIDE Women’s Tournament Cycle. “It’s an amazing feeling, as if all my New Year’s wishes have come true,” Assaubayeva told the tournament’s press service. She described this third title as the most emotional of her career due to the pressure and workload tied to the Candidates' qualification. Assaubayeva is the first Kazakhstani player to qualify for the Women’s Candidates Tournament, where she will face top contenders including India’s Divya Deshmukh, Humpy Koneru, and Vaishali Rameshbabu; China’s Zhu Jiner and Tan Zhongyi; and Russia’s Kateryna Lagno and Alexandra Goryachkina. The tournament will follow a double round-robin format in classical time control. The winner will earn the right to challenge China’s Ju Wenjun, who has held the women’s world championship title since 2018. In Kazakhstan, Assaubayeva’s achievement received high praise. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev awarded her the Order of Barys, 2nd degree. In his official message, he noted that Assaubayeva “has gone down in the history of world chess as an outstanding master and the first representative of Kazakhstan to become a three-time world blitz champion.” As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Assaubayeva was awarded the title of International Grandmaster (GM FIDE) in July 2025, becoming one of the most decorated chess players in Kazakhstan’s post-independence history.

Chess

Kazakhstan Hosts FIDE Chess Tournament for Players with Disabilities

Chess is a “great equalizer,” says Henry Lopez, a player from the Philippines. “It’s for everybody.” Lopez, who uses a wheelchair because of polio, is among dozens of competitors from around the world who are participating this week at the 2nd Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities in Astana. The event is organized by FIDE, the international governing body of chess, and hosted by the Kazakhstan Chess Federation, which is making a big push to introduce the game in schools across the country, as well as cultivate high performers at the elite level. The weeklong competition, whose closing ceremony is on Saturday, features 34 teams from 29 countries. There are teams from Europe, Asia, the Americas and Africa. The players have visual, hearing, and physical impairments. The event is taking place at the Paralympic Training Centre, whose facilities are designed to help people with disabilities. In an interview posted on YouTube by FIDE, Lopez said he was taking part in the second edition of the event. The first, won by Poland, was held in Belgrade, Serbia in 2023. The Philippines came third in Belgrade and will try for the top spot again in Astana. “Chess for me now is my source of living in the Philippines,” Lopez said. “I’m a national player and we have stipend every month from the government.” FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich said the contest has drawn more teams and more countries this time around, and was consistent with the organization’s goal of providing access to top level events to as many people as possible, according to a FIDE interview. “We do believe that chess is inclusive and we have to make sure that it’s inclusive indeed,” Dvorkovich said. Shantel Panashe Gweshe, a player from Zimbabwe, told FIDE that the Astana event had inspired her. “When I go back to Zimbabwe, first thing, I’m going to make sure that I’m going to empower other people with disabilities to ensure inclusivity and participation,” she said.

Chess

Kazakhstani Woman Earns Grandmaster Title, Says Chess is “My World”

As Bibisara Asaubayeva of Kazakhstan puts it, she has dedicated 17 of her 21 years of life to chess. Was it worth it? Well, this month, FIDE, the Switzerland-based governing body of chess, awarded grandmaster status to Asaubayeva, making her the second Kazakhstani woman and the 43rd female player ever to earn the coveted title. The announcement came on Monday after a FIDE council meeting on July 18 that approved nine other grandmasters, including 15-year-old Kazakhstani Edgar Mamedov. It wasn’t a surprise for the players from Kazakhstan because they had achieved the required ratings two months ago and were awaiting official confirmation. Still, the accomplishment spurred reflections this week from Asaubayeva, who posted an Instagram slideshow of photos spanning her career, from a young girl perched in front of chessboards at tournaments to a young woman with a wealth of accolades and experience behind her. She described being “haunted” by missed chances or mistakes on the board and said chess was no longer a game for her because it is so much a part of her identity. “It’s so strange sometimes to look at my childhood photos from tournaments,” she said. “The games, the trips, the emotions — everything seemed so big, so extraordinary back then. I remember how differently I saw chess at the time — with awe, excitement, as if I were entering a fairytale where anything was possible.” Asaubayeva said losses hurt and she never gets used to them, but they make her more resilient. “To me, chess isn’t just 64 black and white squares. It’s a whole world. My world. And there’s still so much left to explore,” she said. “And you know… If you ever give it a try — this game will never let you go.” The first woman from Kazakhstan to become a grandmaster was Zhansaya Abdumalik in 2021. Asaubayeva won consecutive titles at the Women's World Blitz Championships in 2021 and 2022. Currently, she is ranked 10th among the world's highest-rated women with a rating of 2509, according to Chess.com. It stated that she received a wildcard into the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Las Vegas and played there a few days ago, but struggled against the world-class competition. Kazakhstan has been pushing to develop homegrown talent, introducing chess into the curricula of hundreds of schools, training chess teachers, organizing numerous tournaments, and even supporting chess federations in some other Asian countries. At last week’s chess council meeting, delegates confirmed the dates for several upcoming events, including the 2nd FIDE Chess Olympiad for people with disabilities, scheduled to take place in Kazakhstan in October this year.