Interesting tidbits about Nodirbek Abdusattorov: His training partners, recent wins, and more...

Interesting Facts About Nodirbek Abdusattorov

As of this writing, during the thick of the 2024 Candidates Tournament, Nodirbek Abdusattorov stands proudly at fourth in the world rankings, with a classical Elo of 2765, 2733 in rapid, and 2661 in blitz, according to FIDE . His breakout moment? The 2021 World Rapid Championship, where he didn’t just win; he stormed onto the scene by defeating contemporary chess giants like Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Levon Aronian, and, in a tiebreaker, Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi.

Without a doubt, Abdusattorov is a strong contender for the world title in the coming years. Here’s a closer look at the Uzbek prodigy.

Training with Jacob Aagaard and Rustam Kasimdzhanov

In an interview with Amruta Mokal and her husband Sagar Shah—both chess players, commentators, and reporters—conducted for ChessBase India after Abdusattorov’s victory at the 2024 Prague Chess Festival, Nodirbek revealed the names of his trainers.

First up, the Scottish Grandmaster Jacob Aagaard, renowned author of numerous books including Thinking Inside the Box, Positional Play, and Calculation. Aagaard runs the Quality Chess blog with Grandmaster John Shaw. We highly recommend reading Thinking Inside the Box.

Abdusattorov and Aagaard’s partnership ended in late 2021, right after the young Uzbek clinched the World Rapid Chess Championship. Abdusattorov acknowledged the significant growth he achieved during their collaboration. Since 2022, he has been training with his compatriot, Grandmaster Rustam Kasimdzhanov, who has previously worked as a second for notable figures like Vishy Anand, Fabiano Caruana, and Sergei Karjakin.

Recent Achievements of Nodirbek Abdusattorov

Here’s a quick rundown of Abdusattorov’s recent feats:

• First place with the Uzbek team at the 2022 Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India. Individually, he won the silver medal on the first board; Dommaraju Gukesh took gold, and Carlsen, bronze.

• Second place at the 2023 Qatar Masters, behind his compatriot Nodirbek Yakubboev, finishing ahead of players like Carlsen, Nakamura, Gukesh, Anish Giri, and Praggnanandhaa.

• First place at the 2023 World Rapid Team Championship. This tournament, a personal project brought to life by the main sponsor Wadim Rosenstein of WR Group, saw Nodirbek sharing the stage with Nepomniachtchi, Wesley So, Duda Jan-Krzysztof, Praggnanandhaa, Vincent Keymer, Hou Yifan, Alexandra Kosteniuk, and the sponsor himself, Wadim. Jan Gustafsson led the team, later becoming Ian Nepomniachtchi’s assistant for the 2024 Candidates Tournament.

• Fourteenth place in the high-level 2023 Grand Swiss Tournament. Vidit won with 8.5 points, while Nodirbek finished with 7.

• Winner of the 2024 Prague Chess Festival, with a Masters group average rating of 2700. The tournament featured three Indian players from the 2024 Candidates Tournament, as well as others like Rapport, Maghsoodloo, and David Navara.

The Eight-Year-Old, Soccer, and Reading

For those interested in seeing Nodirbek’s early steps in the chess world, there’s a video of his first world championship win at age eight. In the 2012 World Youth Championship under-8 category, he is seen losing to Praggnanandhaa but eventually securing first place.

Nodirbek has expressed that if he had not pursued chess, he would have chosen to be a soccer player, similar to Magnus Carlsen. He also professes a love for books.

No Geniuses, Just Hard Work and Talent

Finally, in an interview with Dina Belenkaya during his participation in the Armageddon Chess Series, she asked the young Uzbek if he considered himself a genius and if he thought Magnus Carlsen was a genius. His response to both questions was immediate: “No.” He believed that while Magnus had natural talent, he was also the product of many other variables, such as family support. This perspective might reflect the influence of Jacob Aagaard, his former assistant, in what is still an early stage of his development as an elite master. In the opening pages of Thinking Inside the Box, Aagaard discusses the idea of talent—not because it doesn’t exist, but because it undermines the value of effort, the importance of identifying specific areas for improvement, and the capacity to analyze and solve problems as they arise.