Chess adventures in Uzbekistan

From 22 to 30 September a group of eleven chess enthusiasts from the Netherlands, Germany and the United States travelled to Uzbekistan. The aim of the trip was to get to know the culture, people, history and nature of the country. But of course it was also about playing chess, both against each other and against Uzbeks. I was the organiser and tour guide, the owner of a travel agency specialising in Central Asia and a chess player. This was a pilot trip.

Most people don't think of Uzbekistan as a popular or interesting holiday destination. However, tourism in this country is on the rise and already attracts several million visitors a year! So what can you expect to find? For starters, reminders of the Silk Road in the old cities of Bukhara, Samarkand and Shiva.

In the form of well-preserved and restored mosques, madrassas and mausoleums, the three "Ms" of Uzbekistan. In a safe, clean and friendly country with excellent food. Even beer and wine are widely available in this predominantly Islamic country, where the government effectively separates religion from the state.

But we also came to play chess, and we did.

At first we played against each other on the train from the capital Tashkent to Bukhara and in some hotels, but then we played mostly against Uzbeks.

This part of the trip was also difficult for me to plan. The contacts with the local chess federations - a club structure like in the Netherlands is unknown - were made by the local partner, a non-chess player.

I had indicated the playing strength of our group, roughly Elo 1600-2100, and asked for equivalent opponents. It was not a battalion of Uzbek IMs and GMs that was requested!

Chess was a popular sport in the Soviet Union, to which the Republic of Uzbekistan belonged until 1991, as it was throughout the vast country. After independence and the struggle for survival for most of the population, as well as competition from all kinds of new forms of entertainment, the popularity of chess declined sharply.

However, thanks to the recent successes of the Uzbeks, the reputation and popularity of chess has increased significantly. This is particularly evident in the state support and the emergence of chess schools and camps, especially for children, throughout the country. Chess has also been included in the school curriculum.

Three Uzbek chess successes in particular explain this growth. In 2004, Rustam Kasimdzhanov became the FIDE World Champion. In 2022 Uzbekistan won the Open section of the Chess Olympiad (they finished third this year), and with Nodirbek Abdusattarov the country currently has a young and popular world class player.

We played three tournaments against other Uzbeks. The first was in Bukhara, in a unique location. On the edge of the Lyabi Hauz, a historic pond surrounded by fantastic buildings in the middle of Bukhara (see cover photo). It is hard to get closer to the heart of the old Silk Road, and we were allowed to play chess here!

The venue was also a pleasant surprise for me. With many tourists present, the tournament attracted a lot of attention. Some tourists also thought that the boards were there for everyone to use and sometimes sat down themselves.

We agreed on a format, first two rapid chess games and then the participants were allowed to choose their own format. The mostly young Uzbek chess players, including the runners-up in the Under-10 World Championships for boys and girls, obviously preferred rapid chess.

The results were not officially recorded - that was not the nature of the meeting - but it can be said that the mainly Dutch group lost by a clear margin.

After the chess games we enjoyed a a joint Uzbek meal in the same beautiful and historic location.

The second chess encounter took place in the equally famous city of Samarkand. In the last week of 2023 the local chess federation had organised the World Rapid and Blitz Championships, both won by Magnus Carlsen. The director of the Samarkand Chess Federation was very proud and eagerly showed his photos with the world stars. And in 2026 the Chess Olympiad will even be held here. The contacts have been made and another trip to the chess country will undoubtedly follow.

In Samarkand, the Uzbeks again hosted a number of talented youngsters, this time in a nice restaurant next to a large football stadium where a match was being played at the same time. Our results were similar to those in Bukhara, but the meeting was again very friendly, including the meal afterwards.

After a trip to the desert, to Lake Aydar and to a village in the Nurata Mountains, we arrived back in Tashkent, the starting point of the journey.

And this was the venue for the third chess encounter with the Uzbeks. This time the venue was a kind of arena in a new and spectacular amusement park, so once again an outdoor venue. This was easily possible in the evening, with pleasant temperatures of 20-25 degrees, whereas previously in Bukhara it had been up to 30 degrees.

This time we were not up against a bunch of junior chess players, but a small battalion of IMs! Once again this meant that the results were not in our favour, apart from the occasional success, but the whole environment made for a wonderful evening of chess. We finished with an Uzbek meal, which of course included the national dish "plov" for those in the know. This time in the new Fergana tradition. If you're curious, come along next time and try it for yourself.

All in all, a successful trip, if I may say so, judging by the reactions of the participants. We saw and learned a lot about the famous history of Uzbekistan and the Silk Road. Bukhara and Samarkand are beautiful cities. The group was friendly and helpful to each other, which made it easy for the tour leader. Once, during an excursion, someone disappeared unnoticed and continued on his own - they are chess players after all. Delicious food, even if the stomachs sometimes rebelled, fine local beers and wines and, of course, lots of chess, both with each other and against the Uzbeks.

It is worth repeating (2026!), and a variant in neighbouring Kazakhstan is not out of the question.

Chess travels to Central Asia...