Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov secured third place and a $40,000 prize at the prestigious Freestyle Chess World Championship held at the Weissenhaus resort in Germany, while compatriot Javokhir Sindarov finished eighth and earned $10,000.
Abdusattorov claimed bronze after defeating Germany’s Vincent Keymer 2.5:1.5 in the third-place playoff. The Uzbek grandmaster had earlier advanced to the semifinals after finishing among the top four in the group stage but lost to world No.1 Magnus Carlsen 3:1 in their four-game encounter.
In the final, Carlsen faced American grandmaster Fabiano Caruana and delivered a dominant 2.5:0.5 victory, securing his 21st world championship title across various formats. Carlsen received $100,000 from the tournament’s total $300,000 prize fund.
Caruana had reached the final after defeating Keymer 2.5:1.5 in the other semifinal.
Sindarov competed against Levon Aronian for seventh place. After splitting the two classical games with one win each, the match was decided in an Armageddon tiebreak, where Aronian prevailed. Sindorov concluded the tournament in eighth place and was awarded $10,000.
The 2026 edition marked the first official FIDE Freestyle (Fischer Random/Chess960) World Championship, organised jointly by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and Freestyle Chess Operations. The tournament featured eight elite players and followed the format previously used in the 2019 and 2022 FIDE Chess960 World Championships.
Earlier this year, Abdusattorov also won the 2026 Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee, finishing with 9 points from 13 games and securing the title with a final-round victory over India’s Arjun Erigaisi, further strengthening Uzbekistan’s position on the global chess stage.
