A 20 year old wins the candidates this year.
Apr 16, 2026
After
Javokhir Sindarov won the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 with a round to spare,
he received a very important call - from the President of Uzbekistan!
Watch their conversation in this video -
a huge thanks to Miro from UzChess for providing us the video and adding English Subtitles.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/apr/14/javokhir-sindarov-gukesh-world-che...Javokhir Sindarov will challenge for Gukesh Dommaraju’s world chess championship this fall after clinching the Candidates tournament with a game to spare on Tuesday afternoon in Cyprus.
The 20-year-old Uzbek grandmaster closed out an emphatic victory in the 14-game double round-robin with a tame 58-move draw playing with the black pieces against Dutch star Anish Giri, moving to 9½ points and leaving the world No 9 two adrift with one round remaining.
“After he exchanged queens [20 Qxa6] ... I didn’t have any pressure,” Sindarov said afterwards. “I felt very comfortable during the game.”
Sindarov brings home the winner’s share of €70,000 ($82,582) from the €700,000 prize fund, along with an additional €5,000 for each half-point scored. Asked whether it had sunk in that he will be playing for the biggest title in world chess, Sindarov was to the point.
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