“These results are not accidental. This is a school, this is a system, this is a new level of Uzbek chess” – chess champions were awarded at Kuksaroy

“These results are not accidental. This is a school, this is a system, this is a new level of Uzbek chess” – chess champions were awarded at Kuksaroy

At the beginning of the meeting, the president specifically recognized the current achievements of the chess players, calling them “heroes of New Uzbekistan, a golden generation that has created a new history in the world of chess.”

“First of all, I sincerely congratulate you once again on the historic victory achieved at the 46th World Chess Olympiad. May the high and honorable title of two-time Olympiad champion be blessed for all of us, for the entire people of Uzbekistan,” the head of state said.

According to Javokhir Sindarov, the contribution of previous champions is significant in the entry of today's generation into chess. He noted that the attention paid to chess in Uzbekistan and the created opportunities help athletes freely express themselves on the international stage.

“To be honest, let the opponents be afraid when they see us. I am not afraid of just any opponent. All conditions have been created for us to practice and become strong. We are playing in our homeland, why should we be afraid? Let the opponents be afraid of us,” Javokhir Sindarov said.

According to Shamsiddin Vokhidov, during the preparation process for the competition, attention was paid to all stages of the chess game. In this process, regular training sessions were conducted with team captain and coach Rustam Kasimdzhanov.

“We paid attention to the championship for a long time, to all stages. We prepared from the opening to the endgame, until the end of the game, from the beginning of the game to the end of the game. During the year, we conducted training camps four or five times and prepared for the Olympiad,” he said.

The head coach of the national team, Rustam Kasimdzhanov, noted that preparation for the Olympiad lasted for more than a year. In the process, all aspects were taken into account, including not only the chess players' playing skills but also their physical preparation, nutrition, and recovery. Most importantly, the needs and opinions of the athletes were not ignored.

“After I won the world championship in 2004, a bit of a chess boom started. Children began to play chess. But this in itself would not be enough, because for chess to develop, a structure is needed in the country. These structures have appeared in our country. Now chess players have everything - they have coaches, opportunities to go to competitions and play. Many competitions are held in Tashkent, the Olympiad was held in Samarkand. Things that have never happened before are happening now. Both I and our chess players are infinitely grateful for these opportunities,” he said.

At the meeting, the participation of the Uzbekistan women's national team in the Olympiad was also specifically noted. The results of Afruza Hamdamova, Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova, Umida Omonova, Nilufar Imomkuziyeva, and Guldona Karimova were recognized.

Young chess player Afruza Hamdamova said that continuing education alongside professional chess is not easy. Nevertheless, she highly rated the team's result at the Olympiad.

“I think we played well as a team. In previous Olympiads, we were considered very low, we were not considered leaders. In this Olympiad, starting as the 13th-seeded team, we constantly fought for medals on the top boards. This showed that chess is developing in Uzbekistan not only among men but also among women,” Afruza Hamdamova said.

Along with the athletes, their parents and relatives also participated in the award ceremony. For them, seeing their children's results recognized on the international stage was a particularly joyful moment.

For the mother of chess player Mukhiddin Madaminov, the most important moment of this day was seeing her child meet with the president and his hard work being valued.

“I hadn't thought yet about whether the president would give a car or a house. More than that, my thought was whether my child, like his older brothers Nodirbek and Javokhir, would enter next to the president, hold his hand, make his face bright, and stand among them.

If our president had not supported these efforts, perhaps we would not have been able to achieve even half of the results. Because this requires a very large amount of money. Our son's growth had stopped at one point. The reason why he developed so quickly later on is the constant support of our president,” said Madaminov's mother.

At the 3rd Para-Chess Olympiad, Sirojiddin Zayniddinov, a member of the Uzbekistan national team, won a bronze medal. His mother said she was extremely happy that her son took third place. In her opinion, along with achieving results in sports, maintaining and further improving them is also important.

“When I first heard about my son Sirojiddin Zayniddin taking third place and winning a bronze medal in para-chess, I was infinitely happy. It is even difficult to express. We are certainly grateful to the leadership of our state, our president, for creating such conditions, cherishing our children so much, raising them so high, and creating conditions to practice chess. Taking this opportunity, I also say an immense thank you to the people of Samarkand. Because I myself witnessed more than 2,000 chess players coming from over 200 countries, tasting the food here, and leaving with words of gratitude. From this, I think that in another two years, at the next Olympiad, we must certainly hold onto these achievements... Winning is easy, but holding onto it is difficult,” she said.

Sirojiddin Zayniddinov noted that meeting the President was one of his biggest dreams.

“My biggest dream was to meet our dear president. I achieved this. I am very happy and grateful that they are giving us such gifts and paying such attention,” he said.

At the end of the event, a commemorative photo was taken with the winning and prize-winning athletes and their relatives. After that, president's gifts - cars - were presented to all the winning participants.