Uzbekistan wins bronze at World Team Blitz Championship

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Uzbekistan national chess team achieved an outstanding result at the FIDE World Team Blitz Championship (WTRBCC), which concluded at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong. Following intense and dramatic matches, the Uzbek team won bronze medals at the prestigious world championship and a cash prize of 30,000 euros.

The Uzbek team's tournament run on the final day became one of the main sensations of the competition. In the quarterfinals, Uzbekistan faced the reigning world champion and main tournament favorite, the star-studded WR Chess club, which included multiple world champion Magnus Carlsen. In the first match, the Uzbek chess players secured a sensational 3.5-2.5 victory due to strong play on the lower boards. In the second match, Uzbekistan team leader Nodirbek Abdusattorov handed a strategic defeat to Magnus Carlsen on board one, allowing the team to secure a 3-3 draw and eliminate the favorites from the battle for gold early.

In the semifinal stage, Uzbekistan put up fierce resistance against the eventual tournament winner, the Chinese team Dragon Chilling. The opponents traded major victories in the main sessions (4.5-1.5 and 1.5-4.5), but the Chinese team proved stronger in the decisive tie-break, winning 4.5-1.5 and blocking the Uzbek grandmasters from reaching the final.

Despite the painful defeat just one step away from the championship match, the Uzbekistan team completely mobilized its forces for the third-place match against a strong Hexamind team. After trading blows in the main matches, the fate of the medals was decided in a tie-break, where the Uzbek chess players defeated their opponents with a clean score of 5.5-0.5 to secure third place on the world podium. Dragon Chilling from China won the tournament and achieved a golden double (rapid and blitz), while the silver medals went to the Endgame.AI team.