Candidates 2026 — Sindarov reaping rewards of strategising for years, says chess coach Shyam Sundar
After Round 7 of FIDE Candidates 2026 on Sunday, the tournament will reach its halfway mark, bringing greater clarity about who will challenge D. Gukesh for the World Championship.
At this stage, the standout name is Javokhir Sindarov. The Uzbek Grandmaster leads the standings with 5.5 points from six games, setting the pace in the open section.
The 20-year-old Sindarov has been the story of the tournament. He defeated World No. 3 Fabiano Caruana with 42 minutes on his clock against Caruana’s 48 seconds.
He also beat World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura, forcing the American to spend more than an hour on a single move before steering the game into a losing position, and overcame Wei Yi in a complex Vienna Hybrid after capitalising on a blunder.
One of the defining features of Sindarov’s run has been his ability to put opponents under severe time pressure.
“It is his natural style, and he is very confident with it. It is not something he has picked up recently. No one would experiment with a new style in an event like the Candidates, because it can easily backfire,” Grandmaster and chess coach Shyam Sundar M told Sportstar.
Sindarov’s rise has caught many by surprise, even within the chess fraternity, and has added an element of unpredictability to the field.
“Not many outside chess know him, and even some within the fraternity are surprised. But I have followed him for a long time. His rise from 2400 to 2700 rating, the consistency, and his dynamic style have always stood out. Earlier, he had a narrower opening repertoire, but what he is doing now is something he has been building towards for years,” Shyam said.
Shyam compared Sindarov’s dominance to Veselin Topalov’s performance at the 2005 World Championship, where the Bulgarian finished well clear of the field.
“He is playing quickly and beating strong opponents. It will be interesting to see how he reacts if this approach costs him a game. Whether he sticks to his style or shifts to a safer approach could define the rest of his tournament,” Shyam said.
He also pointed out that the pressure will increasingly shift to Sindarov as he edges closer to the biggest result of his career, while others may be forced to take greater risks.
In recent years, Nodirbek Abdusattorov has been Uzbekistan’s leading player, with Sindarov now pushing to match that stature.
“Sindarov is trying to establish himself as one of Uzbekistan’s strongest players. That can be a strong source of motivation. Like the Indian players pushing each other, it is similar to the Uzbek players. It reflects a healthy chess ecosystem that is helping them grow,” Shyam said.
Published on Apr 05, 2026