Budapest Derby: Nodirbek Abdusattorov defeats Bibisara Assaubayeva with black pieces

11 November 2026, 08:252 min read3

The prestigious Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot 2026 super-tournament, featuring the world's strongest grandmasters, has kicked off in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. According to Sports.kz, the blitz stage, which served as the opening part of the competition, saw a highly anticipated central clash for Central Asian chess fans: a principled encounter between Uzbekistan team leader Nodirbek Abdusattorov and two-time world champion from Kazakhstan, Bibisara Assaubayeva.

Victory in the 6th round and Swiss intensity

The two talents met in the 6th round of the Swiss-system blitz competition and engaged in an uncompromising battle. Despite playing with the black pieces, 22-year-old Nodirbek Abdusattorov broke through his opponent's defensive lines with precise calculations to secure a beautiful victory.

The initial stage was quite difficult and unsuccessful for Assaubayeva. After nine rounds, the Kazakh chess queen managed to collect only 0.5 points, placing her at the very bottom of the tournament table in 24th place. Abdusattorov, following intense matches, took 19th place with 3.5 points.

Rank / Chess player	Team / Country	Points Scored	Blitz Stage Result
1. Magnus Carlsen	Norway	7.0 points	Sole leader and winner of the blitz tournament
2. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave	France	6.5 points	Second place (silver result)
3. Levon Aronian	USA	6.0 points	Third place (bronze position)
19. Nodirbek Abdusattorov	Uzbekistan	3.5 points	Won against Assaubayeva
24. Bibisara Assaubayeva	Kazakhstan	0.5 points	Finished in last place after 9 rounds

"In such elite super-tournaments, every mistake is costly. Abdusattorov seized the initiative with the black pieces and proved his superiority in the Central Asian derby."

Rapid and classical matches ahead

As a reminder, this international super-tournament in Budapest will run from November 10 to November 20. The matches include three formats: blitz, rapid, and rapid-classical systems.

Although Norway's Magnus Carlsen won the top prize in the blitz with 7 points, there are still many decisive matches ahead. The next stage of the tournament starts today, November 11, and Nodirbek Abdusattorov has the opportunity to significantly strengthen his position.

Do you think Nodirbek Abdusattorov can join the leaders in the upcoming rapid and classical stages of the tournament and fight for the main prize? Leave your opinion in the comments!