GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov

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.