Nodirbek Abdusattorov shared his opinion on Javokhir Sindarov. Abdusattorov calls Sindarov one of the most talented players in chess history. Nodirbek notes that Javokhir devoted less time to chess in the early 2020s. Abdusattorov spoke about it in an interview with the Lolazor Podcast and Xushnudbek Xudoyberdiyev.

Nodirbek Abdusattorov

Nodirbek Abdusattorov

World's No. 5

“Javokhir is a talent, a very talented guy. More talented than me. But until 2021–2022 he was too fond of playing around, or maybe put less work into chess.

But his talent… He’s among the most talented players in chess history. I think he’s top five at least. Together with Kasparov and all the rest. He has no less talent. He simply hadn’t been able to realize that talent. That’s why he stayed a little in the shadow.

But the 2024 Olympiad in Budapest, I think, affected him enormously. We took third place as a team, but he stumbled in some matches. After that Olympiad, I think, he began working on himself in a different way.

He changed coach, changed his whole environment, the people around him. He held back from other things. The phone, computer games, cut down on hanging out with friends, and gave himself more fully to chess. That’s what paid off.”

Javokhir Sindarov is currently the world’s No. 4 and Uzbekistan’s No. 1. Sindarov’s Classical rating of 2782 points is at its historical peak. Javokhir is the No. 26 player by peak rating in the history of chess. Sindarov will play in the 2026 FIDE World Championship against Gukesh Dommaraju in Geneva from November 25 to December 15.

Credit: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE