Uzbek GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov shared his thoughts on the importance of coaching in chess preparation. Abdusattorov discusses the change in his coaching staff and points out what helped him get back into shape after the 2025 World Cup.

Nodirbek Abdusattorov

Nodirbek Abdusattorov

Uzbekistan's No. 1

“In chess, not everything depends only on you. It also depends on the people around you, the coach, etc. The decision to change coaches positively influenced my play.

I can reveal one detail: after the Grand Swiss tournament in Samarkand, I changed my coach. Previously I worked only with Rustam Kasymdzhanov, but now I have two coaches.

They certainly didn’t expect that I would perform so poorly at the World Cup right after starting working with them… But after that, we discussed everything, and I stopped focusing on results. I started playing chess not for results, but simply for fun.

And it paid off — my confidence returned after winning the London Chess Classic. I began to feel like I could play well if I didn’t think about the result and just played.”

GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2751) is Uzbekistan’s No. 1 who became World Rapid Champion in 2021 at the age of 17. At the FIDE World Cup in October 2025, he finished 33rd-64th and lost 18.4 rating points. Abdusattorov then won the London Chess Classic in December 2025 and the Tata Steel Masters in January 2026.

Credit: Lennart Ootes