Uzbek chess grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov commented in an interview with Chess24 on his game in the ninth round of the Candidates Tournament in Canada against German grandmaster Matthias Bluebaum, where he missed a winning variation. According to Sindarov, his decision was influenced by the tournament standings and a desire to play more reliably. He noted that at the start of the tournament, he could have shown more courage.
“I think if we had played in the first round, I would have found this path. But today I tried to play as solidly as possible. In the endgame, I just won one pawn and wanted to continue in that spirit, but I completely overlooked his f5 move. That move turned out to be very strong,” said Sindarov. The grandmaster added that he regrets choosing an endgame instead of sharp play more suited to his style: “After that, I realized how stupid it was not to play in that position. I mean the variation with the queens involved – after all, that’s my style.”
Post-game analysis revealed a paradoxical winning move for White – the queen’s retreat to b7. Sindarov acknowledged that during the game, this variation seemed very unclear to him. “This move is very hard to see. Usually, the desire to play Qa5 arises – I think that was also better than what I did, but Qb7 stunned me. Perhaps if I had spent more time, I would have found it, but I played very quickly. It seemed to me there was no clear winning path, and transitioning to the endgame was the best choice at that time,” he explained.
The chess player did not hide his disappointment with the match result and said: “I really got very upset. The f5 move just ‘killed’ me.” “The position was completely in my style, and I’m very upset that we, for example, didn’t exchange queens by playing Qe5 or Qb7. In that position, Black was attacking, and I don’t know how White should defend. I’m upset that I overlooked the f5 move. Any other move instead of Bxa4 would have been better,” said Javokhir.
During the interview, two-time Candidates Tournament winner, Russian grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi, passed by and winked at the Uzbek chess player as a gesture of support. Sindarov emphasized that he highly values such attention from titled colleagues. “It’s always nice to receive respect from such masters. I hope the tournament ends well for me,” said Javokhir.
At the same time, he noted that he is currently distancing himself from the tournament standings and excessive stress, focusing all attention solely on the game: “I just want to play good chess and prepare well for the games.” The Uzbek grandmaster is maintaining optimism ahead of the tournament’s decisive phase. Sindarov reminded that there are still five games ahead, three of which he will play with the white pieces. “I will have time to prepare. A draw is not a bad result either,” he concluded.
In the post-match press conference, Matthias Bluebaum stated that he considered his position lost. “Up to a certain point, I felt like I was playing like a clown. After the a4 move, I just hated my life. I wanted to resign. The position seemed lost in every possible way. But, fortunately, he gave me the opportunity to transition to this endgame, and I certainly should have held it to a draw,” admitted Bluebaum.
The grandmaster also noted that he was not prepared for Sindarov’s opening preparation in the Queen’s Gambit (dxc4), and this forced him to spend a lot of time on calculations from the early moves. Speaking about long castling, Bluebaum explained his choice as striving for “natural development,” while acknowledging that his assessments of the king’s safety were mistaken. “Maybe I’m just stupid and that’s how it turned out in the end. I mean, this move seemed natural… It certainly wasn’t a choice in favor of fighting, it just seemed more natural to me than short castling,” commented Matthias.
Javokhir Sindarov, in turn, confirmed that the post-opening position was very comfortable for him: “I attack very quickly. So such a position suits my style. And I like it.” In a parallel match, Anish Giri defeated Fabiano Caruana. He also beat Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa in the previous game and has now risen to second place with 5.5 points. The gap between Sindarov and his closest pursuer is 1.5 points.
In the next, tenth game of the 14-round competition, the Uzbek chess player will play with the white pieces against Indian grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. The 2026 Candidates Tournament is taking place in Cyprus from March 29 to April 15, featuring eight of the world’s strongest grandmasters. Participants compete against each other in two rounds (14 games). The winner earns the right to challenge the reigning world champion Dommaraju Gukesh for the chess crown. The tournament’s prize fund is 700,000 euros.
Source: www.gazeta.uz