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Journalism of Courage
Uzbekistan’s 19-year-old phenom Javokhir Sindarov has become one of the biggest revelations in the chess world after reaching the finals of the FIDE Chess World Cup 2025 in Goa.
While Uzbekistan boasts a former World Champion in Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Sindarov has now become the first Uzbek to qualify for the prestigious Candidates tournament.
India has been a special country for Uzbek chess. After winning the Chess Olympiad in Mahabalipuram back in 2022, Sindarov on Sunday also became the first player from his country to reach the World Cup finals. However, he denies any notion of Uzbek dominance in India, calling instead for more consistent performances from the Indian players, who often win tournaments in Uzbekistan, the land of Amir Timur.
“I can also say that all the Indian guys who come to Uzbekistan have also won a lot of tournaments. For example, Pragg (Praggnanandhaa) last year won the President’s Cup, Nihal (Sarin) has won a lot of tournaments in Uzbekistan,” Sindarov told The Indian Express after beating his compatriot Nodirbek Yakubboev in the semifinal tiebreak.
He emphasised the role of luck in such high-stakes events, adding, “You need to be lucky to win some tournaments like the World Cup. I also worked hard for this tournament, but the most important thing is that you need to be lucky for these tournaments.”
Beating his compatriot Yakubboev to reach the finals was emotionally challenging for Sindarov. The typically flamboyant and chirpy player couldn’t even make eye contact with his friend when accepting a draw offer that sealed his victory. After winning the contest, he apologised repeatedly with gestures before Yakubboev stood up and gave him a warm, graceful hug.
“It’s very hard, very stressful to lose a match like this. I have also lost a lot of important matches (in my career). It’s very hard, but I hope he (Yakubboev) will come back tomorrow. He’s also one of my good friends in chess. I cannot be very happy because I beat my teammate, but anyway, I believe I played a very good match today and maybe I deserve it,” he said.
Yakubboev can still qualify for the Candidates if he beats Russia’s Andrey Esipenko in the third-place playoff, a result that would see two Uzbeks enter the World Championship challenger event in Cyprus.
Although a rivalry is brewing between the young talents from Uzbekistan and Indian prodigies, both individually and as teams, Sindarov denies there is any direct competition between the two nations.
“We have a lot of strong young players from the same generation, that’s why we all compete against each other. Yes, the competition started when we won the Olympiad in 2022 but then you guys also won the Olympiad in 2024.”
Sindarov was quick to praise the Indian players, pointing out that Praggananandhaa had an edge over him in age-category events.
“The (Indian) guys are very strong. I played with all of them. I played Pragg for the first time in 2013, some 12 years ago. At that time, I knew that he would be one of the top players. He beat me in a lot of youth events.”
“I think if he had not played, I would have won at least a few more tournaments,” he said before bursting out in laughter. “In 2013, I lost to him twice or thrice in a row, I can’t remember but at that time, I knew he would be one of the strongest players in the world. After that, I also played a lot with Gukesh, Arjun, and Nihal, and all of them are just very strong.”
Sindarov’s versatility is as impressive as his rise. After receiving a wild card for the Weissenhaus Freestyle Grand Slam Tour, he impressed in the Fischer-Random format. He also had an impressive run at the Last Chance Qualifier to earn a spot in the inaugural Esports World Cup, proving his exceptional skill across all formats this year.
When asked how he manages to be so versatile, he said, “You need to just work a lot if you need to be good. If you want to be good in all of the formats, you just need to play good chess.”
