Uzbekistan was catapulted into the chess world when one of its nationals, nine-year-old Nodirbek Abdusattorov, beat a FIDE rated 2600 chess grandmaster, Andrei Zhigalko, in the first round of a local tournament. The grandmaster made no erratic blunders. Rather, it was precise play that ensured Nodirbek’s victory. Zhigalko played the black pieces and the popular Sicilian defence, but instead of playing the usual setup, White opted for an old move. a favourite of Bobby Fischer, 3. d3, closing the centre. It represented an ingenious move by Nodirbek to counter suspected home preparation.
But Nodirbek obviously was not fully satisfied with his lone grandmaster victory, and proceeded to annihilate a second grandmaster, his compatriot Ruslan Khusnutdinov, in the same tournament. By doing so, he dispelled any doubt that the win against Zhigalko was a chance occurrence. Nodirbek came to national prominence in Uzbekistan when he won the Under-8 gold medal for his
