Javokhir Sindarov Advances to World Chess Championship Final Against D Gukesh

Sindarov Secures Spot in Championship Match

Nicosia [Cyprus], April 14: Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov has successfully reached the title match against reigning world champion D Gukesh after clinching the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Candidates title in the Open section. This achievement came after he drew his round 13 game against Dutch player Anish Giri.

According to reports from ESPN, Sindarov managed to secure a draw while playing with the black pieces against Giri.

Remarkably, the Uzbek chess prodigy completed the tournament unbeaten, finishing with a round to spare. The championship match for the world title is scheduled to take place later this year.

In the women's division, R Vaishali made a strong comeback from a previous loss, managing to draw her game against Tan Zhongyi while also playing with black pieces. This result brought her total points to 7.5, keeping her in the race for the world title. In the final round, she is set to compete against Zhu Jiner, who is currently engaged in a match with Aleksandra Goryachkina, while Bibisara Assaubayeva, also with 7.5 points, secured a victory over Anna Muzychuk today.

D Gukesh made headlines in December 2024 when he became the youngest world champion at just 18 years old, defeating Ding Liren of China in Singapore to claim the FIDE World Championship title.

In April, Gukesh continued to make waves by winning the FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament 2024, thus becoming the youngest challenger for Ding's world title.

In other matches at the FIDE Candidates 2026, R Praggnanandhaa drew with Fabiano Caruana, while Divya Deshmukh faced a setback against Kateryna Lagno.