Javokhir Sindarov will challenge Gukesh Dommaraju for the 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 sealed the achievement with an emphatic performance in the 14-game double round-robin event at the Cap St Georges Hotel and Resort. He closed out the tournament with a tame 58-move draw while playing Black against Dutch star Anish Giri, enough to move him to 9½ points and secure the title of Candidates winner before the final round.
Giri, who is ranked world No 9, was left two points behind with one round still to play. That gap confirmed Sindarov as the outright winner of the event and booked him a place in the world title match later this year.
The result marks a major breakthrough for the Uzbek player, who entered the tournament among a strong field of elite grandmasters and emerged ahead of the pack in Cyprus. Winning the Candidates is one of the hardest tasks in chess, as the competition determines who earns the right to face the reigning world champion.
Sindarov’s path to the championship match now sets up a high-profile contest against Gukesh Dommaraju, the Indian grandmaster who holds the world title. Their match is scheduled for the fall and will be one of the biggest fixtures in international chess this year.
His victory with a round remaining underlines the strength and consistency he showed throughout the event. In a format where every half-point matters, Sindarov did enough early enough to remove any doubt before the final game was even played.
The Candidates tournament in Cyprus featured a demanding schedule and a tightly contested standings race, but Sindarov’s 9½-point total proved enough to put the chase beyond reach. With the draw against Giri, he completed the decisive step from contender to title challenger.
For Uzbek chess, the win is another notable moment on the world stage, and for Sindarov, it is the biggest result of his career so far. His place in the world championship match is now secure, and attention will turn to his preparation for the fall showdown with Gukesh.
