The FIDE World Team Championship in Hong Kong will feature two teams from Uzbekistan: the national team “Uzbekistan” and the private club “Sky Chess Team”. The participation of Sky Chess Team marks a historic moment as it is the first time a private chess club from Uzbekistan has entered a world championship of this caliber.
The national team “Uzbekistan” includes leading players Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Javokhir Sindarov, Nodirbek Yakubboev, and Shamsiddin Vokhidov. The team captain is 2004 FIDE World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov.
Sky Chess Club has been operating for over 12 years and has become one of the most prominent private chess projects in Uzbekistan. The Hong Kong tournament will be the club’s debut at the World Team Championship.
Sky Chess Team’s roster includes players from Uzbekistan, the United States, and Armenia. The team captain is FIDE Master Khulkar Tokhirjonova. She is joined by International Master Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova, a two-time Uzbek women’s champion, bronze medalist at the 2024 World Chess Olympiad, and recipient of the “Kelajak Bunyodkori” state award.
A key player is 17-year-old International Grandmaster Muhammadzokhid Suyarov, who became the 31st grandmaster in Uzbekistan’s history in 2026. He won the Asian Championship in 2019 and the Uzbek blitz and rapid championships in 2023. Candidate Master Rakhmonkul Sulaymonov, vice-champion of Uzbekistan among schoolchildren, is also on the team.
The international contingent includes Grandmasters from the US and Armenia. American Andrew Hong won the Spring Chess Classic 2025 and was silver medalist at US Masters 2025. Armenia is represented by Grandmasters Aram Hakobyan (world champion under 12) and Shant Sargsyan (world champion under 16 in 2018, bronze at the 2023 European Team Championship).
The team’s main sponsors are the iHamkor platform and Eight Media Maker agency, with additional support from Eman Group. iHamkor founder Askar Ismailov stated that the company and Sky Chess share a common approach based on analysis, strategy, and decision-making. He emphasized that Sky Chess is the first example in Uzbekistan of a private academy taking responsibility to bring a team to a FIDE world championship.
iHamkor is a modern digital ecosystem for entrepreneurs, providing analytics, company data, and market information. Eight Media Maker is a communications agency specializing in PR, branding, digital promotion, and large-scale media projects.
Source: uznews.uz