The WR Chess Masters in Miami, Florida, concluded with an exciting battle between two major forces in world chess: Team USA and Team Uzbekistan. Organized by WR Chess, the event featured five top Grandmasters from the United States competing against five leading players from Uzbekistan across Rapid and Blitz formats. Playing in a 4-board Scheveningen format across two days (4 rounds of Rapid and 8 rounds of Blitz), every round victory was worth 2 match points, a tie worth 1 point, and a loss 0 points. Photos: Abhyudaya Ram
Experience vs. Youth
Team USA: Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Wesley So, Levon Aronian, and Leinier Dominguez.
Team Uzbekistan: Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Javokhir Sindarov, Nodirbek Yakubboev, Shamsiddin Vokhidov, and Mukhiddin Madaminov.
Day 1: Experience Takes the Lead (Rapid: USA 5 – 3 Uzbekistan)
The action kicked off with 4 rounds of Rapid (15m + 10s increment). The veteran American squad set the pace early, taking Day 1 with a 5–3 match point advantage:
Round 1 (USA 2.5–1.5 UZB)
Wesley So opened the scoring by grinding down Mukhiddin Madaminov.
Round 1 Games
Round 2 (USA 2.0–2.0 UZB)
Javokhir Sindarov produced the shocker of the day, stunning Hikaru Nakamura in just 22 moves with a brilliant 99.7% accuracy miniature! However, Wesley So saved the round for Team USA by winning a fortress position against Shamsiddin Vokhidov.
Javokhir Sindarov vs. Hikaru Nakamura
Check out the game along with commentary by IM Sagar Shah to see who triumphed.
Round 2 Games
Round 3 (USA 2.5–1.5 UZB)
Levon Aronian displayed a tactical masterclass against Sindarov, securing a crucial win alongside Nakamura’s smooth conversion over Vokhidov.
Levon vs. Sindarov, Commentary by IM Sagar Shah
Round 3 Games
Round 4 (USA 1.5–2.5 UZB)
Uzbekistan pulled two points back in the final rapid round, led by Nodirbek Abdusattorov defeating Wesley So in a tense endgame with rook against two minor pieces.
Leinier vs Javokhir Sindarov Commentary IM Sagar Shah.
Round 4 Games
Day 2: The Blitz Battles (Blitz: USA 9 – 7 Uzbekistan)
With 8 rounds of Blitz (3+2) on Day 2 and 16 total match points up for grabs, the young Uzbek squad came out in full form.
The Uzbeks grabbed early momentum on Day 2, winning Round 1 (2.5–1.5) and Rounds 4 & 5 to stay within striking distance. Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov pushed the veterans to their limits in high-speed battles. However, when the pressure peaked in the crucial Round 7, Team USA showed their Dominance:
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Hikaru Nakamura defeated Mukhiddin Madaminov with Black.
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Levon Aronian scored a vital win over Javokhir Sindarov.
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Wesley So took down Uzbekistan’s top board, Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
A dominant 3.5–0.5 round win sealed the overall match victory for the Americans with a round to spare! A 2.0–2.0 draw in Round 8 finalized the Day 2 blitz score at 9–7 for USA, bringing the cumulative total to 14–10.
Replay Blitz Games
Photo Gallery: Here
Video Gallery: Here
Check out the players’ meeting and drawing of colors for the USA vs Uzbekistan match
In this video, GM Harshit Raja and Abhyudaya Ram show you around in this beautiful venue!
Venue: Faena Hotel Miami Beach
Live Streams
Tournament Format
System
Scheveningen team match: Team USA vs Team Uzbekistan, four players a side on four boards
Rounds
Stage 1: rapid, 4 rounds · Stage 2: blitz, 8 rounds; each round of four games counts as one match
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Rapid: 15 minutes + 10-second increment from move one (G/15+10)
Blitz: 3 minutes + 2-second increment from move one (G/3+2)
Tiebreaks
Board points; if still tied, a single Armageddon game (White 4′+2″, Black set by time bid; a draw counts as a win for Black)
Overall Standings
Team standings by match points: win 2, draw 1, loss 0. Leinier Dominguez (USA) and Mukhiddin Madaminov (Uzbekistan) are reserves.
Important Links
WR Chess Socials: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube
