Sindarov beats Wei with black
Will anyone be able to stop Javokhir Sindarov? The 20-year-old from Tashkent continued his remarkable run at the Candidates Tournament in Cyprus by scoring yet another victory, extending his lead at the top of the standings.
After six rounds, Sindarov has collected 5½/6 points and now stands 1½ points ahead of Fabiano Caruana. Even more strikingly, the players tied for third place are already 2½ points behind the leader, a gap that raises the possibility that, should Caruana falter in the coming rounds, Sindarov might be able to control the tournament comfortably in the second half. Notably, three of Sindarov’s five wins have come with the black pieces.
Saturday’s round featured just one decisive result, as Sindarov defeated Wei Yi with black, while the remaining three games ended in draws without major missed opportunities.
Round 6 results
The quickest game to finish was Hikaru Nakamura v. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, where the players repeated moves after only 23 moves. A much longer but similarly uneventful encounter took place between Anish Giri and Matthias Bluebaum. Their 84-move game featured a queenless setup for much of the struggle, with both players manoeuvring behind a closed pawn structure without attempting pawn breaks or meaningful simplifications.
In the remaining game, Caruana temporarily gained an extra pawn against Andrey Esipenko, but the position remained fully balanced until the contenders signed a draw.
Fabiano Caruana | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
Sindarov’s fifth win of the event featured a remarkable display of strategic, pragmatic play by the runaway leader against Wei Yi. Early in the game, Sindarov allowed his opponent to double his f-pawns, obtaining counterplay by placing his rook on g8 while keeping his king secure in the centre.
Later, he chose the dynamic 15…Bg4 instead of the more straightforward 15…Rxa3, preferring to maintain long-term pressure.
By capturing the knight on f3 on the next move, he got a strong outpost for his dark-squared bishop on d4, from where it exerted significant influence over the position.
As the game progressed, Wei began to spend increasing amounts of time on the clock, while Sindarov continued to find practical solutions without significant time investment. The position gradually became more favourable for Black, and once it simplified into a major-piece endgame, Sindarov held both a superior position and a substantial time advantage.
Under these conditions, Wei’s resistance proved insufficient, and it did not take long before he faltered and resigned.
In round seven, Anish Giri will face Sindarov with the black pieces, while Caruana will attempt to keep pace in his game with black against Praggnanandhaa.
Anish Giri will face Javokhir Sindarov in Sunday’s seventh round | Photo: FIDE / Yoav Nis
Taking a selfie with the next World Championship challenger? | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
Standings after round 6
All games
In this video course, experts including Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller and Oliver Reeh, examine the games of Boris Spassky. Let them show you which openings Spassky chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were and much more.