UzChess Cup 2025: Super GM Showdown with Arjun, Nodirbek, Nepo & More

From June 18 to 28, 2025, Uzbekistan will host the second UzChess Cup, a premier chess tournament organized by the Uzbekistan Chess Federation. The tournament will take place in the capital city, Tashkent.

Featuring a $105,000 prize fund, this event will see top grandmasters compete in three 10-player round-robin sections: Masters, Challengers, and Futures.

The Masters section, with an average Elo of 2724, stars Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2771) of Uzbekistan, Ian Nepomniachtchi (2757), and the mighty Indian trio – Arjun Erigaisi (2782), Praggnanandhaa (2767), and the newly minted top 10 player, Aravindh Chithambaram (2749). Local talents Javokhir Sindarov (2706) and Nodirbek Yakubboev (2665), the 2024 champion, aim to thrill home fans. The Challengers and Futures sections will showcase many strong GMs, including ex-Candidate Nijat Abasov.

Played over nine rounds with a classical time control (90 minutes for 40 moves, then 30 minutes, plus 30-second increment from move 1), the tournament is part of the 2025 FIDE Circuit, and offers a significant sum of points toward the 2026 Candidates Tournament. Its intense schedule, without rest days, will test players’ endurance.

Uzbekistan, a rising chess hub, hosted the 2023 World Rapid and Blitz Championships, and will stage the 2026 Chess Olympiad. The UzChess Cup underscores this legacy, following Uzbekistan’s 2022 Olympiad gold and 2024 bronze.

With five top-10 players (live) competing, the UzChess Cup 2025 promises strategic brilliance and fierce competition.

Official website: uzchesscup.uz