Uzbek grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov delivered a successful performance in the fourth season of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League, one of the world's largest franchise chess leagues. He emerged as the most productive player on the Icon Board, where franchise leaders competed.
Sindarov's international participation, tournament preparation, and work with coaches are supported by the National Bank of Uzbekistan. The Global Chess League tournament took place from September 5 to 13 in Bangalore, India. Six teams participated in the event. Each team consisted of one Icon, two Superstar Men, two Superstar Women, and one Prodigy. Sindarov played on the top Icon board for the first time: in previous seasons, he competed in the Prodigy and Superstar categories.
Playing for FYERS American Gambits alongside him were Daniil Dubov, Nihal Sarin, Bibisara Assaubayeva, Sara Khadem, and Mark'Andria Maurizzi. Shrinath Narayanan served as the team coach. In the regular stage, each team played 10 matches. All six players of one team played with pieces of the same color. A win with black pieces earned four points, a win with white pieces earned three points, and a draw earned one game point for each side.
In an individual match, the team that collected more game points received three match points. The time control was 20 minutes per participant with a two-second increment per move starting from move 41. Sindarov recorded five wins in 10 rounds, drew three games, and missed opportunities twice. Under the standard scoring system, this would amount to 6.5 out of 10 points, but under the GCL system, the Uzbek grandmaster brought his team 20 points, surpassing all players on the Icon Board.
He defeated five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand twice, and also secured victories over Alireza Firouzja, Ian Nepomniachtchi, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Sindarov drew with Firouzja, Magnus Carlsen, and Vachier-Lagrave, while losing to Nepomniachtchi and Carlsen. For comparison, Carlsen collected 18 game points under the GCL system in 10 matches of the regular stage. Tournament winner Ian Nepomniachtchi had 15 points. Thus, Sindarov finished the group stage with the best result among the six top boards, and also ranked third among all participants after Greece's Stavroula Solakidou (21.5) and India's Nihal Sarin (21).
His victories in the second half of the tournament were particularly important for American Gambits. On September 8, Sindarov again defeated Anand with black pieces, and the next day he overcame Firouzja — this was the only decisive game in the match against Triveni Continental Kings, bringing FYERS an 8:5 victory. On September 10, Sindarov defeated Nepomniachtchi. That day, American Gambits crushed the eventual champions — Ganges Grandmasters — with a score of 13:5: besides the Uzbek chess player, Dubov, Assaubayeva, and Maurizzi also won their games. After eight games, FYERS, Alpine APL Pipers, and Ganges Grandmasters each had 15 match points, with American Gambits and Alpine tied at 73 Game Points each.
Before the final round, American Gambits lost to Alpine APL Pipers with a score of 7:9. Carlsen defeated Sindarov with white pieces, ending his streak of three consecutive wins. Before the final match, the Uzbek chess player's team still had a chance to reach the final. In the decisive match against CheQ Mumba Masters, Sindarov fulfilled the task on his board: he defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave with black pieces, earning four points for his team. However, in the overall score, FYERS lost the match 6:11. In particular, Nihal Sarin, who had a winning position against Pranesh, lost in time trouble.
As a result, American Gambits finished the regular stage in third place with 15 match points and 86 game points. CheQ Mumba Masters collected the same number of match points but had 85 game points. Ganges Grandmasters and Alpine APL Pipers, each with 18 match points, advanced to the final. On September 13, FYERS and Mumba Masters played two matches for third place. American Gambits won both — 3.5:2.5 and 4:2. Sindarov drew with Vachier-Lagrave in both matches. The main contribution to the victory was made by Nihal Sarin and Mark'Andria Maurizzi, who each won two games. Across 12 boards, American Gambits suffered only one defeat.
Sindarov's successful performance also positively affected his online rapid rating. In the official FIDE rating for September, his score was 2732 points. After his victory over Firouzja, his rating reached 2742.6 points — 10.6 points higher than the initial value. At that moment, Sindarov jumped four places in the world ranking, from sixth to second, trailing only Magnus Carlsen. The Global Chess League 2026 title was won by Ganges Grandmasters. The first final match against the defending champions — Alpine APL Pipers — ended in a 3:3 draw, while in the second, Ganges won 4:2. One of the key results was Nepomniachtchi's victory over Carlsen on the Icon Board. Final standings: 1st place — Ganges Grandmasters, 2nd place — Alpine APL Pipers, 3rd place — Javokhir Sindarov's FYERS American Gambits.
Source: www.gazeta.uz