Agzamov Memorial: Martirosyan and Uskov share lead on 5/6

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
3/23/2026 – Two players share the lead after six rounds at the Agzamov Memorial in Tashkent, with top seed Haik Martirosyan (pictured) and 14th seed Artem Uskov both on 5/6. Martirosyan has impressed with a series of wins with the white pieces, while Uskov produced a notable upset against Pouya Idani and now faces the Armenian in a key round-seven encounter. A closely packed chasing group remains within striking distance with three rounds still to play. | Photo: Uzbek Chess Federation
Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally.
FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before. 

Two co-leaders, nine chasers

After six of the scheduled ten rounds at the Georgy Agzamov Memorial, two players share the lead on 5 points out of 6. Top seed Haik Martirosyan of Armenia and FIDE representative Artem Uskov, seeded 14th, have emerged as the frontrunners in the Open A section.

Martirosyan began the event with a victory with the black pieces against a lower-rated opponent, and subsequently demonstrated his strength by winning all his games with white. His two remaining encounters with black both ended in draws, allowing the Armenian grandmaster to maintain a place at the top of the standings.

Uskov's tournament trajectory has been somewhat different. The young player opened with a draw against an untitled opponent, but quickly recovered to score four consecutive wins from rounds two to five. Among these was a notable upset victory over second seed Pouya Idani of Iran in an eventful Sicilian Najdorf encounter in round five (see the game with annotations below). In Sunday's sixth round, Uskov shared the point with eighth seed Abdimalik Abdisalimov, preserving his co-lead. The round-seven pairing carries added significance, as Uskov celebrates his 16th birthday on 23 March and is set to face Martirosyan with the black pieces in a direct clash between the joint leaders.

Half a point behind the leading duo is a group of nine players still very much in contention. This chasing pack includes India's Abhimanyu Puranik, the tournament's second seed, as well as Idani and Abdisalimov. The group also features a few lower-rated competitors who have exceeded expectations, notably Uzbekistan's Ulugbek Tillyaev, seeded 74th with a rating of 2227, and Kyrgyzstan's Eldiyar Orozbaev, the 50th seed rated 2327.

Georgy Agzamov Memorial 2026

The playing hall | Photo: Uzbek Chess Federation

Uskov 1-0 Idani

Standings after round 6

Rk. Name Pts. TB1
1 Martirosyan, Haik M. 5 20
2 Uskov, Artem 5 18
3 Orozbaev, Eldiyar 4,5 22
4 Abdisalimov, Abdimalik 4,5 21
5 Idani, Pouya 4,5 21
6 Afanasiev, Nikita 4,5 20,5
7 Tillyaev, Ulugbek 4,5 19
8 Suyarov, Mukhammadzokhid 4,5 18,5
9 Puranik, Abhimanyu 4,5 17,5
10 Bakhrillaev, Bakhrom 4,5 17,5
11 Sethuraman, S.P. 4,5 17,5
12 Nigmatov, Ortik 4 20
13 Narayanan, S L 4 20
14 Rostovtsev, Dmitry 4 19
15 Bernadskiy, Vitaliy 4 18,5
16 Begmuratov, Khumoyun 4 18
17 Khoroshev, Nikita 4 18
18 Umarov, Bekhruz 4 17,5
19 Shen, Fuyan 4 17,5
20 Kadric, Denis 4 17
21 Pranav, Anand 4 16,5
22 Tekeyev, Zaur 4 16,5
23 Nikitenko, Mihail 4 16
24 Utegaliyev, Azamat 4 15,5
25 Fedosov, Alexander 4 14,5

...101 players

All available games

Links

<< Anzel Laubscher: "Meet your students where they are"
Humpy Koneru withdraws from Women's Candidates, Anna Muzychuk named replacement >>
Topics: Agzamov Memorial, Artem Uskov, Haik Martirosyan
Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
Discussion and Feedback Submit your feedback to the editors

See also

Early surprises mark opening rounds of Agzamov Memorial in Uzbekistan

3/18/2026 – The 19th Agzamov Memorial is under way in Tashkent, attracting over 300 players across two rating sections. Strong grandmasters such as Haik Martirosyan, Pouya Idani and S.L. Narayanan have begun with perfect scores, but early rounds have also produced notable upsets, with lower-seeded players joining the lead group. Held in honour of Uzbekistan's first grandmaster, the tournament continues a long-standing tradition. | Pictured: Ukrainian GM Vitaliy Bernadskiy | Photo: Uzbek Chess Federation
More...
 2

See also

Biel: Sightseeing in La Neuveville and blindfold chess on a boat!

7/16/2024 – The participants of the Masters and the Challengers at the Biel Chess Festival were invited to an excursion on the first rest day: a boat trip to picturesque La Neuveville. Saleh Salem and Hail Martyrosian enjoyed the ride by playing a game of blindfold chess, which featured a remarkable tactical finish. Arne Kähler is enjoying himself in Switzerland and recording the events on video!
More...
 4

Video

60m How to fight Queen's Pawn Openigns

After 1.d4 d5 many players with White avoid the great amount of theory in the Slav, Semi-Slav, QGA and Orthodox Queen's Gambit and do not therefore play 2.c4. This is not very ambitious, but the painful experience of many chess players has been that the Colle System, the Trompowsky Attack, the Torre Attack and the London System are nevertheless extremely dangerous. Black has to be prepared for each of these openings and IM Valeri Lilov offers you some help with his six instructive videos, in which he demonstrates for each single opening a relevant plan for Black. In addition to the openings mentioned, the Bulgarian trainer also delves into the Catalan, the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit and the Richter-Veresov Opening.