5th President Cup (Chess): Dates, Tickets & Venue (Tashkent)

A Circuit Stop in a Chess Capital

Tashkent takes this game seriously. Uzbekistan won gold in the open section of the 2022 Chess Olympiad in Chennai, and a young generation of grandmasters has kept the country near the top of world chess ever since. The 5th President Cup is held in the city where much of that talent trained.

The tournament is part of the FIDE Circuit. That is the season-long series in which results from qualifying events earn points toward a place in the Candidates Tournament. So the games count for more than prize money, and players arrive with a reason to play for wins.

Nine Days, November 28 to December 6

The tournament runs from November 28 to December 6, 2026. That is nine days of play in the first stretch of Tashkent’s winter.

Classical chess is slow. A single game can run for several hours, with long silences broken by a flurry of moves when a player’s clock runs low. Spectators usually drift in and out instead of sitting through a whole round. Many save the last two or three days for an in-person visit, because that is when the standings tighten and draws stop being an easy option.

• Opening days: the field settles and the favourites show their form.
• Middle rounds: pairings get sharper and leaders meet each other.
• Final rounds: tiebreak arithmetic and the most crowded viewing.

Tickets, the Hall and the Broadcast

Venue, spectator access and any ticketing are handled by the tournament organisers. This guide does not name a hall or a price, because neither appears in the facts we were given.

At FIDE events the playing hall is normally separated from the public, sometimes by a barrier and sometimes by a separate viewing room. Commentary and live boards are often shown on screens. For anyone outside Tashkent, live move transmission on the major chess sites is how most of the world follows a Circuit event. Many fans in the city keep a broadcast open on their phone while they watch, so they can follow the engine evaluation.

Silence Is the Price of Admission

A chess hall has its own manners, and locals know them well. Uzbek club players grow up in rooms where talking near a board is simply not done. Visitors are expected to follow the same habits.

• Phones off or silent. FIDE anti-cheating rules are strict, and electronic devices near the playing area can mean being escorted out.
• No flash photography. Photographers usually get a short window at the start of a round, and spectators are expected to stay quiet after that.
• Whisper analysis outside. Discussing a position goes in the corridor or the commentary room, never within earshot of the boards.
• Move between games, not during critical moments. Regular spectators wait for a player to make a move before walking past.

Getting around Tashkent is straightforward. Yandex Go is the standard ride-hailing app, and the Tashkent Metro reaches most central districts through stations decorated with chandeliers, mosaics and marble. Payment by card and phone is common across the city, though small cafés and bazaar stalls often prefer Uzbek som in cash.

Tashkent at the Turn of Winter

Late November and early December are cold here. Daytime temperatures are usually in single digits Celsius, and nights often drop toward freezing. Visitors pack a proper coat, since the walk from a metro exit to a venue door can be long and windy on the wide Soviet-era avenues.

The upside is light crowds at the sights and hot food everywhere. Plov, Tashkent’s rice dish cooked with carrots and mutton in huge kazans, is traditionally a midday meal. Places that specialise in it often sell out by early afternoon.

Between Rounds

A free morning before an afternoon round fits several of the city’s best-known sights.

• Chorsu Bazaar: a market under a large blue-tiled dome, piled with bread, dried fruit, spices and nuts. It is next to Chorsu metro station.
• Hazrati Imam (Khast Imam) Complex: mosques and madrasas in the old town, home to a Quran manuscript that is among the oldest in existence.
• Amir Timur Square: a central square with an equestrian statue of Timur, close to the Museum of the Timurid History.
• Kukeldash Madrasa: a 16th-century madrasa near Chorsu, an easy pairing with the bazaar.

Chess fans who want more of the game in the city often look for the parks and courtyards where older men play quick games on folding boards. That habit fades in the cold months but rarely disappears entirely.