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
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Two co-leaders, nine chasers

After six of the scheduled nine 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

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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.
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