"Played computer games for 24 hours." Chess player Mukhiddin Madaminov on his path to Olympic gold
Mukhiddin Madaminov got into chess at the age of 10, almost stopped practicing during the quarantine and, in his own words, "played computer games 24 hours a day." A few years later, he became a grandmaster, made it into the Olympic team, and brought Uzbekistan the deciding point in the final round of the Olympiad in Samarkand.
"I played computer games for 24 hours." Chess player Mukhiddin Madaminov on his path to Olympic gold
Grandmaster Mukhiddin Madaminov became one of the main heroes of the Uzbekistan national team's victory at the World Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. In the decisive round, his victory over Ukrainian Roman Dekhtiarov secured the team's success in the match against Ukraine — 2.5:1.5. At the same time, a draw was enough for Uzbekistan to win gold, as India also finished its match in a draw. As a result, the national team became Olympic champions for the second time in history.
For Madaminov, this Olympiad was his first. He played seven games, scored 5.5 points, and did not lose a single time.
The 19-year-old Madaminov, by his own admission, came to chess "quite late" — at the age of 10.
"On February 5, 2016, I came to a chess club for the first time and have been practicing since then. And I realized that chess was exactly my sport around 2020, after the quarantine," he said.
That was when he decided to focus entirely on chess.
"During the quarantine, I had a very big life choice: to choose chess and completely dedicate my life, attention, time, and energy to it. In 2020, I made this decision and since then I have been practicing and playing at a professional level," the athlete said.
Madaminov is the youngest child and the only son in the family; he has two older sisters:
"In 2016–2017, my mother always took me to chess and picked me up from there. My mother is the biggest motivation for me and the person who supports me the most."
His parents tried to put him into various sports, but he often fell ill after physical exertion.
"When they put me into chess, it was both a game and a sport for me at the same time, so I became very interested," the grandmaster noted.
In 2019, Madaminov received the title of FIDE Master. According to him, coaches said back then that he would be able to become a grandmaster in about five years. However, the pandemic made its own adjustments.
"Then the quarantine started. I completely stopped playing chess. Firstly, there was no control, and secondly, no motivation. I just played computer games for 24 hours."
In 2022, Madaminov became an International Master, and in 2024 — a Grandmaster.
"To be honest, I could have become a grandmaster in 2023 as well, because I already had the rating. But it was difficult for me to complete the norms," he admitted.
Before the Olympiad, Madaminov fought for a place in the main roster of the national team.
"This year, to get into the Olympiad squad, it was necessary to increase the rating and qualify by rating. And in all the tournaments where I played with the thought: 'Now I will add to my rating,' I played poorly. When I accepted this and started playing simply because I like it, everything changed. Chess itself is a sport and a very cool game. You just need to enjoy it and play with pleasure," the athlete stated.
As a result, Madaminov made it into the Uzbekistan national team for the Olympiad along with Javokhir Sindarov, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Nodirbek Yakubboev, and Shamsiddin Vokhidov.
After the World Junior Championship in Peru, where he took first place, Madaminov went to a training camp in Germany together with Javokhir Sindarov.
"When I became the world champion in Peru and the tournament ended, Javokhir-aka said: 'Let's go to Germany, hold a training camp.' He often invites me with him. He invited me to that camp too."
There, Madaminov began to help Sindarov with preparation.
"I started helping Javokhir-aka a little bit. A person looking from the outside always sees many things a bit differently, sometimes even more than the one who is inside the process. For me, this opened up a different perspective," he noted.
"After Javokhir-aka won and the president called him to congratulate him, chess became very popular in Uzbekistan. People started recognizing chess players. I think this is very important," the 19-year-old grandmaster stated.
Before the start of the tournament, Madaminov said that the home Olympiad would be a special event for him.
"This is my first Olympiad, and the fact that it is taking place in Uzbekistan is a matter of great pride for me. There is a little pressure and a big responsibility. We have everything. I can say that every person on the team is ready to give everything for the national team and fight to the end."
"I don't know what will happen next in life. But one thing I know for sure: chess is my favorite activity and my sport."