Abdusattorov Reaches Freestyle Chess World Championship Final

Uzbek grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattorov won the Play-In qualifying tournament to book his place in the final of the Freestyle Chess World Championship, according to Dunyo.

In the final of the qualifying stage, Abdusattorov defeated India’s Pranav Venkatesh 2-0. The World Championship final will be held on February 13–15 in Weissenhaus, Germany.

Eight of the world’s leading players will compete for the title, including another Uzbek grandmaster, Javokhir Sindarov. The field also features Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Levon Aronian, Arjun Erigaisi, Vincent Keymer and Hans Niemann.

The event will be the first official Freestyle Chess World Championship organised in cooperation with FIDE and the Freestyle Chess project. The format is based on Fischer Random Chess, also known as Chess960, in which the starting position of the pieces is decided by draw, demanding creativity and rapid decision-making from players.

The Freestyle Chess format is already familiar to Uzbek players. At the Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge in Germany in February 2024, Abdusattorov delivered one of the tournament’s standout performances, beating Carlsen and Ding Liren and earning praise for his fighting games against Ian Nepomniachtchi and Aronian.

Kursiv also reports that Uzbek chess grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov ecured a spot in the FIDE Candidates Tournament, which will be held at the Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort in Cyprus.