Rustam Kasimdzhanov was born on December 5, 1979, in Tashkent. He developed a passion for chess from an early age and began serious training at the age of five. At 15, he won the Asian Junior Championship. By 1997, at 18, he fulfilled the requirements for the grandmaster title. A year later, he proved himself as a dominant force among adult players in Asia, establishing his place in the global chess world.The 2004 World Chess Championship was hosted by Libya. At the time, Rustam was ranked 54th in the FIDE rankings. Due to political reasons, some top players withdrew from the event. This provided an excellent opportunity for Kasimdzhanov, who was in peak form. However, aside from a few absentees, most of the world's leading chess players participated in the tournament

Professor Yuriy Buryakov from Mirzo Ulugbek National University of Uzbekistan made a breakthrough in chess history. In 1990, during excavations in the ancient part of Samarkand, Afrosiyob, he discovered seven chess figurines made of ivory. This is considered the most complete set found to date. In 1996, Japanese archaeologists found two rare chess figurines from the Kushan Empire era in the ancient Dalverzintepa region in southern Uzbekistan. This indicates that chess existed in ancient Uzbekistan as early as the 2nd century BC

he competition was held in rapid and blitz formats, with the winners determined based on the overall results of both tournaments. This prestigious tournament, held for the 10th time, featured eight grandmasters, including Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Nodirbek achieved an impressive result in the blitz section, scoring 10 points. Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi finished second, while India's Aravindh Chithambaram secured third place. In the rapid section, Nodirbek scored 8 points and finished in 4th place.

The Uzbekistan men's national team became the champion of the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India, by defeating the Netherlands in the 11th round. The final match on August 9 ended with a score of 2.5:1.5. The 20-year-old Nodirbek Yakubboev was initially losing to 23-year-old Jorden Van Foreest but managed to turn the game around and secure a draw.During the tournament, the Uzbek chess player recorded five wins and six draws without a single loss (8 points from 11 games). The match between 17-year-old grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattorov and 28-year-old Anish Giri, one of the world's top 10 players, also ended in a draw. Abdusattorov had the upper hand, and with a victory, he could have entered the 2700+ rating club.

The Chess Federation of Uzbekistan held an awards ceremony for the year's laureates at the Republican Specialized Chess School for Children and Adolescents. A press conference dedicated to the results of 2018 took place, discussing the current state of Uzbek chess, the achievements of Uzbek players in international tournaments and world championships, and the introduction of chess as a subject in general education schools. Afterward, winners in various categories were awarded diplomas and commemorative gifts.

 In the FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship held in Warsaw (Poland), Nodirbek Abdusattorov became the world champion. The Uzbekistan Chess Federation reported this.The 17-year-old Uzbek player (FIDE rating: 2633) defeated top-ranked grandmasters such as Levon Aronian (2772) and Fabiano Caruana. He also outperformed Radoslaw Wojtaszek and Boris Gelfand.In the 10th round, he beat reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen. His games against Russian Vladimir Fedoseev (11th round) and Indian Gukesh Dommaraju (12th round) ended in draws.

The games on the first three boards ended in a draw. Grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattorov played against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Nodirbek Yakubboyev faced Étienne Bacrot, and Javokhir Sindarov played against Laurent Fressinet.Before the final round, China was second with 17 points, while Slovenia held third place with 16 points. Eight more teams, including Uzbekistan, had 15 points, making a total of 10 teams competing for medals.On the first board, 20-year-old Nodirbek Abdusattorov improved his performance throughout 11 rounds, scoring 9 out of 11 points with seven wins and four draws without a single loss. This secured him the silver medal.

The esports club Natus Vincere has signed contracts with three chess players. It has been announced that Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Wesley So, and Alexander Bortnik will play for the Ukrainian esports club.The team will begin its participation in the Chessable Masters online tournament. The prize fund of the competition is $150,000. The top 12 players will qualify for the Esports World Cup, held in Riyadh from July 31 to August 3, with a prize pool of $1.5 million.