Uzbekistan is offering its chess players a one-time payment of $5,000 for earning the international grandmaster title and $200,000 each for gold medals at the World Chess Olympiad, under a presidential resolution signed days before the host nation claimed its second team title.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev issued Resolution No. PP-346 on September 21, 2026, shifting major rewards from amounts based on the national currency’s base calculation value to fixed U.S. dollar payments. Gold medalists in the adult Olympiad or Paralympiad receive $200,000, silver $100,000 and bronze $50,000. Coaches earn $50,000, $25,000 and $12,500 respectively for the same results.
The same framework awards $5,000 upon attainment of the grandmaster title. Separate scales apply to youth Olympiads, FIDE world-level events and Asian competitions, with gold at world-level FIDE events paying $15,000.
Uzbekistan’s open team of grandmasters Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Javokhir Sindarov, Nodirbek Yakubboev, Shamsiddin Vokhidov and Mukhiddin Madaminov, captained by former FIDE world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov, finished first at the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. The hosts scored 20 match points out of a possible 22 and defeated Ukraine 2.5–1.5 in the final round on September 27.
India took silver and Germany bronze. Abdusattorov, born September 18, 2004, in Tashkent and now 22, earned individual gold on board one with a 2869 performance rating. Sindarov, born December 8, 2005, also in Tashkent and now 20, contributed strongly on a high board. The squad largely repeated the lineup that won gold in Chennai in 2022.
Each of the five players received the $200,000 cash award, a cottage and a Volkswagen Teramont Pro. Kasimdzhanov received $50,000 and a car. President Mirziyoyev met the team and their families in late September to present the prizes and state honors, including the title of Honored Athlete of the Republic of Uzbekistan for several members.
Shamsiddin Vokhidov, born January 11, 2002, told ChessBase India after the victory: “I feel happy because our President supports chess. He takes care of us.”
Prominent figures outside Uzbekistan reacted to the scale of the incentives. American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura replied to a post detailing the $200,000 team awards with “No words needed.” British grandmaster David Howell wrote, “How chess should be supported.” Former women’s world champion Susan Polgar said, “When players get this kind of incredible support and incentive, good things happen!” Former world champion Vladimir Kramnik commented, “Glad for boys, deserved, and nice that a country appreciates their achievers.”
The resolution builds on earlier state investment that helped produce the 2022 Olympiad gold and a bronze in Budapest in 2024. Uzbekistan fielded multiple teams in Samarkand and also secured a first bronze for its para-chess side. Officials have described the payments as recognition of both individual achievement and the broader chess system now operating in the country.
Details of the new incentive structure were first widely reported by local outlets including Kun.uz and Gazeta.uz, with the Olympiad results confirmed by FIDE. The combination of cash, housing and vehicles places the rewards among the more substantial national support packages currently available in the sport.
