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 BCE