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.

Uzbek Grandmaster Abdusattorov Wins in Prague: “I Was Always in Control.”

Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan has risen to fourth in the live chess ratings after winning the Prague Chess Festival Masters this month, following his victory in the elite Tata Steel tournament in the Netherlands earlier this year as well as the 2025 London Chess Classic.  Abdusattorov now has a classical chess live rating of 2780.3, behind Fabiano Caruana (2793.2), Hikaru Nakamura (2810), both of the United States, and top-ranked Magnus Carlsen (2840) of Norway. The player from Uzbekistan is 21 years old, while the other three players are in their 30s.   Live ratings are updates of chess ratings that happen after the end of a game in a major tournament. They are based on the official ratings of FIDE, the international governing body of chess, that are updated every month.  In the final round in Prague, Abdusattorov’s draw against American Hans Niemann was enough to win the tournament. The nine-day event ended on March 6.  “It went very smooth. I was always in control,” the Uzbek player said in an interview with lichess.org, a chess platform. “Prague is a nice place and a lucky place for me because I won two tournaments here already.”  Abdusattorov said a lot of people from Uzbekistan came to the venue to support him, and that his strong run began in London last year.  “It boosts my confidence and everything went my way since then,” he told lichess.org. “It’s continuing to get better and better. But when you are playing against absolutely top players like Magnus, Fabiano and all other super grandmasters, you need to show consistency, you need to prove everything again and again.  “That’s my mindset for now.”  According to the Prague tournament website, Abdusattorov said he took a break from the tournament last year after an earlier title there and might try the same schedule again, aiming to return in 2028.