Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbek chess player Javokhir Sindarov has won the inaugural FIDE Excellence Award in the Best Chess Player — Male category. The award covers the 2024–2026 Olympic cycle and recognizes a player’s overall results during the period.
The FIDE Excellence Awards were established by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in 2026 and are being presented for the first time. The awards follow a two-year cycle and recognize outstanding achievements by chess players, teams, federations, events and initiatives across the global chess community.
The Best Chess Player — Male category evaluates a player’s overall performance throughout the Olympic cycle. The selection takes into account results in classical chess, rapid and blitz, rating changes, as well as the broader impact of sporting achievements on the global chess community.
Over the past two years, Sindarov has risen into the world’s top four chess players, won the World Cup and achieved a historic result at the Candidates Tournament.
His performance at the Candidates Tournament was among the key achievements considered during the period. Sindarov produced a result that had not previously been achieved by another participant in the competition.
The FIDE Excellence Award therefore reflects not the result of a single tournament, but the combination of Sindarov’s performances and achievements throughout the 2024–2026 Olympic cycle.
The award is the first in the history of the FIDE Excellence Awards and recognizes Sindarov as the Best Chess Player — Male for the two-year period.
