u/Affectionate_Hat3329

“Sindarov is among the five most talented players in chess history"

Nodirbek Abdusattorov on Javokhir Sindarov's talent and how his success has inspired him:

"We know his potential. He's incredibly talented, more talented than me. Until 2021–2022, he spent less time on chess and was involved in other things as well.

In my opinion, he's among the five most talented players in chess history, alongside Kasparov and others. His talent is no less than theirs. He simply couldn't realize his potential, so he remained somewhat in the shadows."

"In 2022, I was the first to cross 2700, and until 2025, I was among the top players by rating. But I never managed to qualify for the Candidates Tournament. Sometimes youth held me back, and later it was inexperience.

For many years, I was the one leading the way for him. Now he's overtaken me and reached that level first. His successive victories have given me a second wind. He showed that it was possible, opened the door, and gave me confidence. He's the one leading the way now.”

source: https://x.com/endgameaichess/status/2109313894837604617?s=46&t=ABzoet-4dMkjDH66O\_a54Q

“First of all, Hans can’t stop playing the victim card. He pretty much lives in that skin. I think there was a fair reason, from his online performances through many years, as far as I know, to be cautious about Hans himself.
As for Hans right now, he proves himself as a very good and formidable player. I really like the way he plays chess, though I don’t like his personality. As a chess player, he plays quite well, and in certain openings, he’s quite good at.
Whenever he has an opportunity to bite anyone and seek for some reaction, he immediately does this. Maybe for him, it’s fine for his overall image.
Conor McGregor has ‘The Notorious’ nickname in MMA. Hans surely tries to be some notorious chess player. So that’s what he does.”

“When Gukesh beat my record, I knew he’s going to be a strong player. I never predicted he would become world champion. To me, Gukesh’s best form was in the 2022 Olympiad, also the 2024 one too. He played very well in the Candidates but I don’t think it was his peak form. I was really impressed by his games from the Olympiad though. There is a lot to learn from them. The match will be very hard for both of us but I suppose it’s better when you’ve played a match at least once.”

Another quote from the article on Gukesh’s fist pump celebration: “When he has a bad tournament, everyone starts saying a lot of things about his chess. Maybe he really needed to do it so that before the match, he starts feeling a little bit confident. I’m also mentally very well prepared,” he said, “I grew up playing tournaments where my opponents were always doing this. I played a lot with Nodirbek (Abdusattorov) when we were young. In the Uzbekistan Championships, I would celebrate when he lost and he too would celebrate when I lost. So, for me, it’s normal.”

“I became a top chess player only this year. I was a 2700-rated player, but that doesn’t really count as being a top player.
But Gukesh has been a top 10 player for more than three years now, so he has a lot of experience playing against the best in the world. That’s why, whenever I get the chance to play in other tournaments, I want to play.
I enjoy playing against top chess players. I want to feel more comfortable in high-level tournaments before the World Championship match, and that’s why I’ve been playing so many events.
In this regard, I understand Gukesh. Last year he played a lot of tournaments and he didn’t feel very good mentally. He might have felt that he needed to work on certain things. But in my opinion, he’s a very, very strong chess player. I’ve played a lot against him, and I know he can play incredibly well.
If he’s in his top form, like we saw in 2024, anything can happen in the match. So, I am preparing for his best form.”

“Our teams will not participate in the World Chess Olympiad. At the initiative of the acting FIDE President Mr. Viswanathan Anand, this decision was made by the council.
Fortunately, there are people who put the game above political matters and do not worry about their own careers. But there are also people who put personal interests above, and there are still more of them on the council.
This time they won.”