At the top-class Masters in Prague in early March, it was not Vincent Keymer or one of the highly praised Indian super talents such as Gukesh or Praggnanandhaa who won. The winner was Nodirbek Abdusattorov from Uzbekistan. Abdusattorov has now moved up to fourth place in the world rankings. He recently overtook Ding Liren, the reigning world champion.
When Magnus Carlsen was asked before the freestyle chess tournament in Weissenhaus which players he wanted to have with him, he insisted on the participation of one man, according to tournament sponsor Jan Henric Buettner: Abdusattorov. This is a bit reminiscent of the young Vladimir Kramnik, whom Garry Kasparov brought into the Russian national team at the 1992 Chess Olympiad in Manila against much opposition.
So who is this Abdusattorov? And what is it about him that makes Magnus Carlsen support him?
In September 2004, little Nodirbek Fazliddin Ugli Abdusattorov was born in Tashkent, the capital of the Republic of Uzbekistan. He learned to play chess from his older brother and sister. His talent was evident at an early age; he won the U8 World Championship in 2012 and two years later came second in the U10 behind Nihal Sarin. At the age of 11, Nodirbek entered the FIDE TOP 100 juniors list. At the age of 13, he was awarded the GM title - as the second youngest player of all time at the time.
Abdusattorov made his breakthrough into the world elite at the age of 17 in December 2021 at the Rapid Chess World Championship in Warsaw . After 13 rounds, he leads the field together with Nepomniachtchi, Carlsen and Caruana. According to the rules, two players go into the tiebreak: Abdusattorov and Nepomniachtchi. The first game ends in a draw, but Abdusattorov wins a full point with white - and crowns himself the youngest rapid chess world champion of all time. All true to his motto "Dreams come true". In his younger years, he called Magnus Carlsen his idol, but now he is placing ahead of him for the first time. Abdusattorov also has the edge in the direct duel against Carlsen (video).
In 2022, a tournament victory followed at the highly competitive Masters in Sharjah. In July of the same year, Abdusattorov proved that he was also a team player. With the experienced head coach Ivan Sokolov and a strong Abdusattorov at the helm, the very young Uzbekistan team sensationally became team Olympic champions.
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ADVERTISING:
Ivan Sokolov, Winning Chess Middlegames
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Of course, luck is largely on the side of the Uzbeks at the Olympiad: The Indian Gukesh, who had been playing outstandingly up to that point, reached a winning position against Abdusattorv, but then gambled away his advantage and, to make matters worse, later ended the game with a blunder:
...72. Qb7+, and the white knight is history.
Uzbekistan's lucky 2:2 against India 2 and a narrow 2.5:1.5 in the last round against the Netherlands led to the completely unexpected win of the gold medal.
The golden Uzbek team, center standing Abdusattorov (Photo: Stev Bonhage)
Abdusattorov receives the silver medal for his individual performance on board 1. The President of Uzbekistan gives him and his teammates €53,000 and a car each. The entire team is given the honorary title “Pride of Uzbekistan”. A new chess boom breaks out across the country. The ancient city of Samarkand hosts the 2023 World Blitz and Rapid Chess Championship and is awarded the 2026 Chess Olympiad.
When choosing his trainers, Abdusattorov always sticks to compatriots (Shkurov, Qayumov, later Yuldashev and Vohidov.). In October 2022, he begins a collaboration with the most famous Uzbek in this country: Rustam Kasimdzhanov , FIDE World Champion of 2004, former second of Vishy Anand and Fabiano Caruana, congenial partner of Jan Gustafsson at chess24 and one of the greatest opening experts in the world.
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Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Games 4. Qc2 vs Nimzo-Indian (in English)
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In 2023, Abdusattorov proved that nerves can play tricks on him at the Tata Steel chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee. There he beat his idol Magnus Carlsen, among others, but was relegated to second place by Anish Giri in the last round after his only defeat - against Jorden van Foreest .
In 2024, however, Abdusattorov secured victory at the highly competitive Masters in Prague one round before the end.
Abdusattorov is also competing in the current German Chess League season. In Viernheim he is seeded second behind Hikaru Nakamura. He has three wins and two draws so far.
Abdusattorov's playing style? The "Indian Express" describes him as a boa constrictor - a snake that crushes its victims using the coils of its muscular body. The website of the Weissenhaus Freestyle Tournament states: " Abdusattorov plays with astonishing maturity on the board. He is not a firecracker who burns bridges and throws himself into adventures. There is no trace of youthful impetuosity. Technique and calculation are the great strengths that he brings to bear in order to work on his opponents until they collapse." And his Olympic coach Ivan Sokolov adds: "Very similar to Magnus Carlsen."
Abdusattorov's personality is very difficult to judge from the outside. He seems pleasantly normal: not as introverted and insecure as Ding Liren, not as boastful as Niemann and not as emotional after defeats as Carlsen. The more Abdusattorov advances into the absolute world elite, the more we will surely get to know his personal side.
A world champion Abdusattorov (in classical chess!) is also quite conceivable, because the three players ahead of him in the world rankings, Carlsen, Caruana and Nakamura, all belong to a different generation. But the young Uzbek still has to be a little patient. He has not qualified for the 2024 Candidates Tournament. The headlines will probably belong to the young Indians for the time being. But Abdusattorov has long since gotten used to that. A boa constrictor knows exactly when to wait and when its time has come.
Cover photo:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=92048473, License CC BY-SA 4.0
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