India and Uzbekistan to fight for Olympiads and other titles in next 10 years: world champion Sindarov

Javokhir Sindarov just couldn’t stop smiling. Or laughing.

The 19-year-old’s excitement on Wednesday night was understandable. He had just won the Chess World Cup, after beating Wei Yi in a final that had gone to the nerve-wracking tie-break, after both the classical games were drawn at Resort Rio.

His Chinese rival, seeded seventh (nine slots above him), had displayed strong nerves, and strong chess too, right through the gruelling knockout tournament. However, a terrible error in the second tie-break game gave Sindarov a golden chance, which he wasn’t going to miss, having done that in the first.

The Uzbek teen, who became a Grandmaster at 12, is the youngest champion in World Cup history. But, he has already set bigger goals.

“I am very happy for sure, but it is only the start of my chess career, and I need to cross 2750 Elo points first,” Sindarov said. “And of course it is my dream to win the Candidates tournament and thus play for the World title.”

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And if does that, his opponent will be D. Gukesh, the defending champion. Before that at the Candidates, he could be playing another Indian contemporary of his, R. Praggnanandhaa, who is most likely to qualify as the winner of the FIDE Circuit.

“The Indian players grew in strength very fast,” said Sindarov. “We have strong players back in Uzbekistan, too. Yes, I think India and Uzbekistan will be fighting for the Chess Olympiad and a lot of other tournaments in the next 10 years.”

India has been a happy hunting ground for Sindarov. He was part of the Uzbekistan team that won the Chennai Olympiad in 2022 with a performance that far exceeded the expectations.

Little wonder, he is looking forward to coming back to India. “I will be playing at the Global Chess League and Tata Steel Chess India (over the next couple of months),” he said.

Published on Nov 27, 2025