Chess players

Javokhir Sindarov

Grandmaster, Uzbekistan. FIDE rating 2782, October 2026.

Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan is a grandmaster and the challenger for the 2026 world title. He is rated 2782 and ranked fourth in the world on the FIDE list of October 2026, his highest rating so far. He plays Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown in St Louis from 26 to 30 October, then the title match against Gukesh Dommaraju in Geneva, with game 1 on 24 November 2026.

FIDE title: Grandmaster
Federation: Uzbekistan
Born: 8 December 2005, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Classical rating: 2782 (October 2026)
Rapid rating: 2747
Blitz rating: 2725
Peak rating: 2782 (October 2026)
World rank: No. 4 (October 2026)
FIDE id: 14205483

Sindarov earned the grandmaster title in 2018 at 12 years, 10 months and 5 days, and he is one of six players to do it before turning 13. He was Uzbekistan's champion in 2019 and 2021 and reached the fourth round of the 2021 World Cup as the 121st seed. When Uzbekistan won the 2022 Olympiad in Chennai he scored 6.5/10 on board three. In March 2023 he won the Rustam Kasimdzhanov Cup, a rapid event, and in December 2023 he crossed 2700 for the first time.

The road to the title match began at the 2025 World Cup in Goa, which started on 1 November with 206 players. He drew both classical games of the final against Wei Yi and won the rapid tiebreak on 26 November, the youngest winner in the event's history. In January 2026 he was second at Tata Steel with 8.5/13, the only unbeaten player in either section. At the Candidates in Pegeia, Cyprus, he won five of his first six games, clinched first place with a round to spare and finished unbeaten on 10/14, the highest score in the modern format.

Two of his Candidates wins came from piece sacrifices: against Praggnanandhaa in round 3, and in round 10, for a record-breaking sixth win. In the last round he drew a Four Knights game with White against Wei Yi in eight minutes, which set the record score at 10/14, past the 9.5 that Ian Nepomniachtchi scored in 2022. In fast chess he won both the rapid and the blitz sections of the 2026 Naroditsky Memorial, and his rapid rating on the October list is 2747.

He finished fifth in the overall standings of the 2026 Grand Chess Tour, which Praggnanandhaa won. In September he was the icon player of the FYERS American Gambits, third at the Global Chess League in Bengaluru, and at the Samarkand Olympiad he scored 7/10 on board two without a loss, won the board-two bronze medal and took a second Olympiad gold with Uzbekistan, this time at home. He is the first player from Uzbekistan to qualify for a match for the undisputed world title.

He plays Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown in St Louis from 26 to 30 October, an 18-game rapid double round robin against Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana and Praggnanandhaa. The players are due in Geneva on 20 November, and game 1 at the Fondation Martin Bodmer is on 24 November. Sindarov is 72 points above Gukesh on the October 2026 list, 2782 to 2710. He turns 21 on 8 December 2026, the day of game 12.

Next events

1.Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown: 26 to 30 October 2026, St Louis, United States. 18-game rapid double round robin with Nakamura, Caruana and Praggnanandhaa.
2.Salesforce FIDE World Championship Match 2026: 22 November to 12 December 2026 (game 1 on 24 November), Fondation Martin Bodmer, Cologny, Geneva, Switzerland. Challenger against Gukesh Dommaraju.

Recent results

Sindarov's recent results
Event	Dates	Result
46th Chess Olympiad, Samarkand	16 to 27 September 2026	7/10 on board two, unbeaten, and the board-two bronze medal; Uzbekistan won team gold
Global Chess League 2026, Bengaluru (FYERS American Gambits)	5 to 13 September 2026	Third; the Gambits beat the CheQ Mumba Masters 7.5-4.5 in the third-place play-off
FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026, Pegeia	29 March to 16 April 2026	1st with 10/14, unbeaten (six wins, eight draws)
Tata Steel Masters 2026, Wijk aan Zee	16 January to 1 February 2026	2nd with 8.5/13, unbeaten (four wins, nine draws)
FIDE World Cup 2025, Goa	1 to 26 November 2025	Won; beat Wei Yi in the rapid tiebreak of the final

Career highlights

1.Earned the grandmaster title in 2018 at 12 years, 10 months and 5 days.
2.Won Uzbekistan's national championship in 2019 and 2021.
3.Won Olympiad gold with Uzbekistan in Chennai in 2022, scoring 6.5/10 on board three.
4.Became the youngest winner of the FIDE World Cup in Goa in 2025.
5.Won the 2026 Candidates unbeaten with 10/14, the highest score in the modern Candidates format.
6.Became in 2026 the first player from Uzbekistan to qualify for a match for the undisputed world title.
7.Won a second Olympiad gold with Uzbekistan in Samarkand in 2026, with 7/10 on board two.

Sindarov's season-by-season record in the league is on the Global Chess League profile.

Frequently asked questions

What is Javokhir Sindarov's next tournament?

Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown in St Louis from 26 to 30 October 2026, an 18-game rapid double round robin against Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana and R Praggnanandhaa. After that he plays the world championship match against Gukesh Dommaraju in Geneva, with game 1 on 24 November.

What is Javokhir Sindarov's FIDE rating?

On the October 2026 FIDE list Sindarov is rated 2782 in classical chess, 2747 in rapid and 2725 in blitz. The classical rating is his highest so far and puts him fourth in the world.

How old is Javokhir Sindarov?

Sindarov was born on 8 December 2005 in Tashkent, so he is 20. He turns 21 on 8 December 2026, the day of game 12 of the world championship match.

When is the Gukesh vs Sindarov world championship match?

In Geneva from 22 November to 12 December 2026. Game 1 is on 24 November at the Fondation Martin Bodmer in Cologny, game 14 is on 11 December, and tiebreaks are on 12 December if the score is 7-7. The first player to 7.5 points is world champion.

How did Javokhir Sindarov qualify for the world championship?

He won the 2025 FIDE World Cup in Goa, beating Wei Yi in the final, which put him in the 2026 Candidates. In Pegeia, Cyprus, he won the Candidates with a round to spare and finished unbeaten on 10/14, a point and a half ahead of Anish Giri.

Sources

Facts checked on 20 October 2026. Ratings are from the FIDE list of October 2026.

More profiles: all chess player profiles.