GMMukhiddin Madaminov

Mukhiddin Madaminov first visited a chess club in February 2016. The youngest of three children, he later credited his mother, who regularly took him to lessons, as his strongest source of encouragement. During the pandemic he briefly abandoned chess for computer games before deciding to pursue the game seriously. He became a FIDE Master in 2019, an International Master in 2022 and a Grandmaster in 2024.

In February 2025 he won the Al-Beruni Masters in Tashkent, recovering from a first-round defeat to finish ahead of several established grandmasters. Later that year he won the world junior blitz championship in Lima with twelve points from thirteen games. He also took silver in the accompanying rapid championship. His work has extended to helping Javokhir Sindarov prepare, including at a training camp in Germany.

At his first Olympiad, in Samarkand in 2026, he scored five and a half points from seven games without losing. His last-round win against Roman Dehtiarov helped Uzbekistan defeat Ukraine and secure team gold. Looking back on his selection campaign, he said his results improved when he stopped focusing on rating gains and returned to enjoying the game.