Uzbekistan won ten matches to take Open gold at home

Five games explain the hosts’ title: contributions from every member of the squad, including two long endings on the lower boards.

Uzbekistan were seeded third and finished first, winning ten of their eleven matches. Their only defeat came against Germany in Round 8. They recovered with three straight wins and finished on 20 match points, two clear of India and Germany. The final Open table gives the outcome; the individual games show how they reached it.

A 4–0 win over Hungary in Round 5 started the decisive stretch. Shamsiddin Vokhidov beat Gleb Dudin on the fourth board, while Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Javokhir Sindarov and Nodirbek Yakubboev all won. Against India a day later, Vokhidov held Gukesh D to a draw and Yakubboev supplied the only decisive result. Uzbekistan won 2½–1½ and reached the rest day alone in front. FIDE’s Round 6 report gives the match context; the board results fix the scores.

Five games behind the title

These are editorial selections for their importance to the team campaign, rather than a claim that a computer has ranked them as the players’ objectively best games.

Vokhidov–Dudin, Round 5: the fourth board kept playing

The 4–0 score against Hungary can make the games look shorter than they were. Vokhidov’s win over Gleb Dudin lasted 69 moves. After 33.Bxf5 gxf5 34.Re7, the players exchanged queens and reached a rook ending. Vokhidov eventually advanced his h-pawn with 63.h5 and 65.h6; the game ended after 69.Ra8. It was a full point from the fourth board in a match that put Uzbekistan in position to take the outright lead the next day. It also gives Vokhidov a proper game in this review, rather than treating his later rest days as his whole story. Round 5 boards and the Vokhidov–Dudin game.

Yakubboev–Nihal Sarin, Round 6: a chance taken

The India match came down to board three. Nihal had created the more promising position, but the recorded sequence turned abruptly: 36…Kxg5 37.g3 Nf5 38.Ne6+ Rxe6 39.gxh4+. The knight move allowed Yakubboev’s fork; after the rook captured it, the pawn capture exposed an attack on the queen. Yakubboev went on to win. It was the difference between a 2–2 match draw and Uzbekistan’s 2½–1½ victory. The game is worth replaying for the sudden change in a position that had already demanded hours of work from both players, not for an easy lesson at Nihal’s expense. FIDE’s position and account and the game record.

Abdusattorov–Caruana, Round 9: work left in a rook ending

Uzbekistan’s 3–1 win over China in Round 7 had included Abdusattorov’s win against Ding Liren and another Yakubboev win against Yu Yangyi. The hosts then lost 1½–2½ to Germany: Sindarov beat Matthias Bluebaum, but the Svane brothers won the lower two boards. FIDE on China and FIDE on Germany.

The next day brought the United States. Abdusattorov’s game against Fabiano Caruana reached a double-rook ending. FIDE reports that Caruana declined a rook exchange before the position became difficult; in the recorded continuation, 40…Rxb3 41.g5 allowed White’s passed pawn to advance. Abdusattorov converted, but Wesley So beat Sindarov, so the team still needed Yakubboev’s win over Hans Niemann for a 2½–1½ match victory. One star board did not settle this one on its own. FIDE’s Round 9 report and the Abdusattorov–Caruana game.

Sindarov–Hovhannisyan, Round 10: an early point against Armenia

Sindarov had won against Bluebaum even as Uzbekistan lost to Germany, then suffered his first defeat against So. Against Armenia he beat Robert Hovhannisyan with White. FIDE describes his opening as involving a prepared exchange sacrifice. In the game record, 14.Nd2 Bxa1 15.Qxa1 shows the rook going for Black’s bishop. Sindarov later advanced his a-pawn to 35.a7, the last move of the game. That is a game to replay for the long use he made of his active queen and advancing pawn after yielding material; the score alone does not establish that the sacrifice was the only way to win. Madaminov beat Gabriel Sargissian and Abdusattorov beat Haik Martirosyan, completing a 3½–½ match win. FIDE’s Round 10 report, the Sindarov–Hovhannisyan game and the Round 10 boards.

Dehtiarov–Madaminov, Round 11: a long last point

Against Ukraine, Abdusattorov, Sindarov and Yakubboev all drew. That left Mukhiddin Madaminov, playing Black against Roman Dehtiarov, to decide the match. Their game traded queens and ran into a long rook ending. The move score records 33.b4 Kd6 and, much later, 55.Kd4 Rb4+, when the game ended. The result made it 2½–1½ to Uzbekistan. It is a better illustration of the reserve’s contribution than a tidy story about an effortless final-round win: this was a lengthy endgame, with both players still working at the board. Madaminov finished unbeaten on 5½/7. Final-round game record, board results and FIDE’s closing report.

Vokhidov did not play the last three matches, but his Hungary win and draw with Gukesh against India belong in the title story. Abdusattorov took the individual gold on board one with a 2869 performance rating; the title still required Yakubboev’s points on board three, Sindarov’s wins and Madaminov’s unbeaten reserve contribution. Round 5, Round 6 and FIDE’s final report.

Assessment (editorial judgement): The defining response was not merely beating the United States after the Germany loss. It was doing so in a match where Sindarov lost, then beating Armenia comfortably and finding the point needed against Ukraine on board four. That is a persuasive way to win a team competition, even if the last game made everyone wait for it.

Match by match

The linked round numbers open the official board records; the final standings fix the rank and match points.

Sources and game records

• Chess-Results: final Open standings and the eleven linked board records
• FIDE: Round 6, Yakubboev–Nihal
• FIDE: Round 7 against China
• FIDE: Round 8 against Germany
• FIDE: Round 9 against the United States
• FIDE: Round 10 against Armenia
• FIDE: closing report
• Chess.com game records: Vokhidov–Dudin, Yakubboev–Nihal, Abdusattorov–Caruana, Sindarov–Hovhannisyan, Dehtiarov–Madaminov

Round 11 report · Round 8 report · Final standings