Nodirbek Abdusattorov, firmly holding a place among the world’s strongest chess players, spoke about how he managed to regain his form after unsuccessful tournaments in the autumn. According to him, form is not only about combinations and openings, but first and foremost, it’s about your inner state, your environment, and the people who believe in you.
— Not everything depends only on the chess player, — Nodirbek says. — The people around you play a big role.
He emphasizes that changes made to his coaching staff have had a positive impact on his game. After collaborating with Rustam Qosimjonov, a new path was chosen: Nodirbek changed his coach after the Grand Swiss tournament in Samarkand. There's a reason for that – Qosimjonov has moved to the position of head coach of the national team and is expected to perform the responsible role of captain at the Olympiad.
The most interesting thing is that Abdusattorov is no longer in a “one-on-one coach” mode:
— Now I have two coaches. But I can’t name them, — he says.
From Nodirbek’s words, it follows that the new team did not expect the matches in the World Cup to be so difficult. However, it was precisely this period that gave him an important conclusion: it is necessary to change his attitude towards himself.
After the World Cup, he said that he reduced the psychological pressure and began to approach himself differently:
— I told myself that I should temporarily stop being so attached to the result. When I lost the opportunity to qualify for the Candidates Tournament, I started playing chess not for the result, but for pleasure.
This thought may seem simple, but in sport, it is often precisely this “don’t torture yourself” inner command that re-opens the athlete. Because excessive pressure "freezes" both the hand and the brain. Nodirbek now feels that he has returned to his previous free, attacking, and confident style.
For fans, the most pleasant thing is that this story has a fall and a rise. So, even more vibrant games from Abdusattorov are to be expected in the upcoming major tournaments.
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