Top Uzbek Grandmasters Nodirbek Abdusattorv and Javokhir Sindarov. (Credit: UzChess & Yoav Nis (Eugene Nisenabum)/FIDE).Javokhir Sindarov recoiled at the question, simple enough as it was. Since he had won the FIDE World Cup and then the Candidates to secure a shot at the world champion’s crown, was he now Uzbekistan’s numero uno?“No, come on!” he said almost as if he had been embarrassed by the question itself. “If you ask me even 10 years from now, I will not say so because (Nodirbek) Abdusattorov is super strong. But I never want to say something like this: that I am better than him.”Sindarov was at the Norway Chess tournament at the time, answering questions from Indian journalists about his remarkable rise to becoming a world championship contender. But in the giddy recollection of his own rise, he wanted to make sure that his contemporary’s achievements were not minimised.“For young players in Uzbekistan, Nodirbek was like a superhero,” Sindarov had said. “If you are the best chess player in the country and no one can beat you, then it’s very hard to improve,” he added as if crediting Abdusattorov for his own growth.On Wednesday evening, it was the turn of Abdusattorov to heap praise on Sindarov. The 21-year-old is one of the top contenders for the Chennai Grand Masters 2026 title, and had no qualms in revealing that he will help Sindarov prepare for the Gukesh challenge at the world championship later this year.“I’m glad that he said that. He’s a very humble guy,” Abdusattorov said.“I had joined his training camp for a week before the Candidates. For the upcoming world championship match, for sure, I will be part of his team. I will be training with him. From my perspective, he’s my friend, he’s close to me, and I will do my best to help him.”Story continues below this adALSO READ | At Chennai Grand Masters, another Gukesh vs Nodirbek Abdusattorov battle loadingIt was an extraordinary admission. Not only because elite chess players are loath to reveal members of their team before a blue-riband event like the world championship. Top grandmasters are also egotists. Revealing their prep for an event like the world championship to another player who could be a rival someday is akin to handing their personal diary over. Even players in romantic relationships with other players in the sport usually try to keep their opening coaches separate for fear that the partner might accidentally play the lines in a game. Javokhir Sindarov in action against China’s Wei Yi at the 2026 Candidates chess tournament. (FIDE/Yoav Nis)“In Uzbekistan, we are all good friends. We try to take it in a good spirit. We don’t see each other as competition or rivalry or enemies. We don’t have such kind of ideas. Especially after becoming Olympiad champions in 2022, that friendship became stronger,” said Abdusattorov.He explained how they have had training camps together where ideas flowed freely. Even their parents have a good relationship.Story continues below this ad“Especially during team tournaments, where we try to help each other with opening ideas and psychological support,” continued Abdusattorov. “Uzbekistan has a good advantage over other teams because of this. We have grown up together when we were young and this generation is the golden generation for Uzbek chess.”It could have been very different. After all, the duo has a history together that stretches back over a decade. Their pieces had traded blows since they were barely tall enough to reach the other end of a chessboard. When Abdusattorov had already become the U8 World Champion, he had come home and lost the U10 Uzbek national championship title to a largely-unknown Sindarov.But what happened on the chess board did not lead to bad blood. It led to a bromance that is currently at the heart of Uzbekistan’s rise in world chess.“We played a lot against each other from our young age and it’s good when you have a competition within your country because you get inspired, you learn from them, we try to train together and it helps us to improve and to show better results. Ultimately I think this is the main reason why we are having so many good results,” said Abdusattorov.Story continues below this adPowered by the bond between two of their top players, Uzbekistan will be raring to reclaim their Olympiad gold from India’s golden generation in September this year at their home city of Samarkand. But just like Sindarov, Abdusattorov also has one eye on the world championship.“We are trying to show the world what we are capable of. If Javokhir becomes world champion, I think it’s going to be an exceptional year for Uzbekistan,” he concluded.Uzbekistan now has two superheroes powering their chess. But neither wants to squabble over who gets to be the sole hero of the story called Uzbek chess.Amit Kamath is Assistant Editor at The Indian Express and is based in Mumbai. He primarily writes on chess and Olympic sports, and co-hosts the Game Time podcast, a weekly offering from Express Sports. He also writes a weekly chess column, On The Moves. ... Read More