There is a moment in every great chess tournament when the result stops being a question and starts being a formality. For the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament, that moment came in round 13, not in a blaze of fireworks, but in the quiet aftermath of a draw. Javokhir Sindarov shook hands with Anish Giri, leaned back in his chair, and became the man who will challenge World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju for the crown.
He did it with a round to spare. He did it at 20 years old. And honestly, looking back at how the tournament unfolded in Cyprus, it is hard to argue he didn’t make the whole thing look a little too easy.
“I’m very happy, but I’m not that surprised to win this tournament, because I always believed in myself.” Javokhir Sindarov, post-tournament press conference
Sindarov entered the event with legitimate credentials, a strong finish at Tata Steel Chess 2026 had given him confidence, but nobody quite predicted the dominance that followed. He opened the tournament with a nervy game against Esipenko that he himself described as “shaky,” but from that moment forward he was almost untouchable. By the halfway mark he had posted a stunning 6 out of 7, a pace that left every other competitor chasing a train that had already left the station.
What made his performance remarkable wasn’t just the points. It was the variety. He could win positionally, he could win tactically, and, in a round 10 piece sacrifice against Praggnanandhaa that sent social media into a frenzy, he could win in ways that made grandmasters watching live question whether they had seen the evaluation bar correctly. His team, he admitted afterward with a grin, was less than thrilled about that particular moment of improvisation. The result, however, was hard to argue with.
His closest pursuer, the experienced and brilliant Anish Giri, kept the pressure on as best he could. A gorgeous positional win over Fabiano Caruana in round nine gave Giri sole second place and a brief moment of hope. But Sindarov never wobbled. He won again in round 10 for his record-breaking sixth win of the event, and by round 12 even Hikaru Nakamura, who at that point had nothing to play for was offering effusive praise: “He deserves to be where he’s at.”
In the press room, Sindarov was refreshingly candid about his journey. He spoke about the days after earning his grandmaster title when, rather than grinding chess databases like his contemporaries, he spent his time playing Counter-Strike. The anecdote drew laughter, but it also revealed something genuine about his character a relaxed confidence that refuses to be crushed by expectation or pressure.
Now he will face Gukesh Dommaraju in what will be the youngest World Championship match in the history of the game. Two players, both under 21, both products of chess cultures burning with ambition. The match is still months away, but if Sindarov brings to the world championship even half of what he brought to Cyprus, it is going to be something special. The chess world is watching, and for the first time in years, Uzbekistan is at the very center of it all.