Uzbekistan
Fearless
Nodirbek Abdusattorov was not yet 18 years old when his rapidly growing list of achievements already included a victory in the World Rapid Chess Championship and a gold medal at the 2022 Chess Olympiad, where he was in charge of the first board of the national team of Uzbekistan. It could hardly be clearer that this youngster will become a super-grandmaster of the elite class.
The fact that Abdusattorov had won the U8 World Championship in 2012 wasn't warning enough for grandmasters Andrey Zhigalko and Rustam Khusnutdinov in a 2013 Open. The result: nine-year-old Nodirbek defeated the two holders of the highest title in chess in the course of one tournament. And from then on produced success story after success story.
Specialized in slowly squeezing his opponents.
Chess author John B. Henderson
In addition to his diligence and dedication, Abdusattorov is distinguished by his fearlessness. Even though today the greats of chess sit opposite him more and more often: Abdusattorov does his thing unimpressed. And he does so with a maturity of play that is unusual for his young age. Abdusattorov's chess isn't characterized by youthful impetuosity, wrote U.S. author John B. Henderson. "Instead, he specializes in slowly squeezing his opponents."
In his native Uzbekistan, the 18-year-old is already a national hero. After Abdusattorov won the World Rapid Chess Championship, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev gave the Uzbek top player his first apartment of his own. With the Chess Olympiad gold, a middle-class limousine was added by presidential decree. For Abdusattorov, that's no reason to sit back: "This is just the beginning of my career."
