The best testament to a great chess player often comes from his most formidable opponent. Magnus Carlsen, who has never managed to defeat Abdusattorov in classical chess, described him as a player with "the most suitable mindset," along with a steely character and outstanding athletic qualities. By the age of 19, Nodirbek has amassed an impressive collection of achievements: he became the youngest world rapid champion in history, led his team to Olympic gold, climbed to 4th in the world rankings and has repeatedly been called a "future world champion."
Roughly every 20 years Uzbekistan delivers a major surprise to the chess world. In 1992, the national team of the former Soviet republic finished second at the Olympiad, in 2004 Kasimdzhanov won the FIDE World Championship and by the 2020s everyone was talking about Abdusattorov... But actually, much earlier, Nodirbek won his first world championship at just 8 years old, in 2012. He had learned about chess only three years before, but quickly reached a master level and by 9 he was already defeating grandmasters in one-on-one games – something no other young player had ever achieved. By April 2015 Abdusattorov set a new record by entering the top 100 strongest juniors in the world. Although he missed out on becoming the youngest grandmaster by four months to Karjakin's record, he still holds the 6th place, earning the title at 13 years, 1 month and 11 days.
At the end of 2017 Abdusattorov was named Asia's best young chess player and in 2018 he won the Youth Olympiad with the Uzbekistan team. However, it took him nearly two years to reach a 2600 rating and then the pandemic set him back by another year and a half. Longing for live competition, Nodirbek won several strong open tournaments in the second half of 2021. Then, unexpectedly for everyone, he won the World Rapid Championship. Ranked 132nd at the world, he tied with Carlsen, Caruana and Nepomniachtchi (9.5/13), and secured the title by defeating the Russian in a tiebreak (1.5-0.5). He was only 17 years old.
After this victory, success seemed to gravitate toward Abdusattorov. In 2022 he won the Sharjah Masters (7/9 with a performance of 2834) and, for the first time in history, led Uzbekistan to win the Chess Olympiad! Playing on 1st board Nodirbek guided his young team to victory (8.5/11). Individually he was second to Gukesh but claimed a crucial point against him in the India-2 vs. Uzbekistan match, which ultimately decided the gold.
Over the next two years, Abdusattorov's standing solidified and his rating continued to rise. After the Olympiad he entered the "2700 club", started 2023 ranked 30th (2713), 2024 ranked 22nd (2727) and by April, he was fourth (2765). Almost every tournament became a highlight in his portfolio. In Wijk aan Zee: 2nd-3rd place in 2023 (8/13, plus a victory over Carlsen) and 1st-4th in 2024 (8.5/13), Qatar Masters (7/9), Prague Masters (6.5/8), TePe Sigeman (4.5/7), UzChess Cup (5.5/9). The only place where Nodirbek has yet to showcase his growing strength is the Grand Chess Tour, where his aggressive, attacking style has struggled against the deeply entrenched defenses of well-prepared opponents. But he will undoubtedly overcome this challenge as well...
