Uzbek Grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov secured a victory over American Fabiano Caruana, ranked third in the world, in the fourth round of the Candidates Tournament taking place in Cyprus. Playing with the white pieces, Sindarov demonstrated deep preparation in the accepted Queen's Gambit, achieving a decisive advantage before the 20th move and leaving his opponent in time trouble. Ultimately, Caruana resigned with only 48 seconds left on his clock.

Commenting on the win, Sindarov emphasized that the key factor for success was the preparation with his team before the round. He stated: "I think I played a very good game today. I got lucky. Before the round, I was just reviewing this exact variation, and indeed, I got lucky." The 20-year-old chess player added that, together with his seconds, he had analyzed all of Caruana's possible directions, predicting the opponent's exact line choice.

After the defeat, Fabiano Caruana briefly remarked, acknowledging the superiority of his opponent's preparation: "Essentially, I got caught in the opening. I think the move Rg8 was a big mistake." Sindarov confirmed this assessment, calling the Rg8 move a serious error because, according to his analysis, Black should have taken the pawn on d4. He described the sharp combination involving the c6 move and the knight's jump to d4 as "home preparation."

Sindarov noted that, despite previously stating an intention to play "confidently," he acted according to the situation: "My idea was to play confidently. But when I understood that he might have forgotten the variations, I decided to put pressure on him. Of course, if he had played precisely, the game would probably have ended in a draw." He also said he does not think much about the difficulty of upcoming games, simply playing chess and walking around the hall during the match.

Speaking about the reasons for the sharp rise of Uzbek chess players on the world stage, Sindarov highlighted the systematic support from the state and the dense calendar of domestic tournaments. He stated: "First of all, in Uzbekistan in recent years, many major tournaments have been organized — World Rapid and Blitz Championships, Grand Swiss, many strong opens. Our government and president are supporting chess very well. In the last two-three years, excellent conditions have been created to work with the best coaches. I think this is helping us. Now we have a very strong team for the Olympiad."

After four rounds, Sindarov has accumulated 3.5 points and leads the tournament standings. He became the first participant to score 3.5 points in the first four rounds of the Candidates Tournament, and after this game, he rose to 6th place in the world rankings. April 2nd is declared a rest day in the competition, and in the fifth round, he will play with the black pieces against Hikaru Nakamura. The 2026 Candidates Tournament is being held in Cyprus from March 29 to April 15, where eight grandmasters are competing for a prize fund of 500,000 euros and the right to a world championship match against Dommaraju Gukesh.

Source: www.gazeta.uz