GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov
Full name
Rustam Kasimdzhanov
Born
Dec 5, 1979
(age 45)
Place of birth
Tashkent, Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union
Federation
Uzbekistan
Bio
Uzbek GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov is perhaps best known as the 2004 FIDE world champion, earning the title in a knockout tournament. Despite being seeded 28th, Kasimdzhanov defeated number-five seed GM Vassily Ivanchuk in round three, number-four GM Alexander Grischuk in the quarterfinal, number-one GM Veselin Topalov in the semis, and number-three GM Michael Adams in the final.
Kasimdzhanov has since become a popular second at other world championships, helping GM Viswanathan Anand in three matches from 2008-12 and GM Fabiano Caruana in 2018. He is still Caruana's main second.
Kasimdzhanov continues to represent Uzbekistan and remains their top-rated player as of February 2021. His rating peaked as the world number-11 in 2001.
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