Uzbek grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov lost to Indian chess player Rameshbabu Pragnanandhaa in the second round of the Super Chess Classic Romania 2026 tournament in Bucharest.
This is Sindarov's first defeat in classical chess since early September last year. Prior to this, the Uzbek grandmaster had not lost in 53 consecutive classical games, including tournaments such as the Grand Swiss, Bundesliga, FIDE World Cup, Tata Steel Chess Masters, Candidates Tournament, and his opening game in Bucharest.
The game between Sindarov and Pragnanandhaa became the central match of the second round. Both players are the youngest participants in the tournament, both aged 20. The Indian grandmaster played with the black pieces and managed to prevail in a complex tactical struggle.
Before this year, Pragnanandhaa had a head-to-head advantage over Sindarov: he defeated Javokhir in junior tournaments, at the 2022 Chennai Olympiad, and at the UzChess Masters tournament in June 2025. However, at the 2026 Candidates Tournament, Sindarov managed to defeat the Indian player twice, with both white and black pieces.
After the game, Pragnanandhaa noted that Sindarov is in "surprisingly strong sporting form." Commenting on his victory, he said: "Beating him at this moment is a very good result."
During the game, Sindarov chose a rare continuation, but Pragnanandhaa turned out to be well-prepared for such play. The Indian grandmaster quickly found precise responses, after which the Uzbek representative spent a lot of time thinking and made a mistake.
Later, Sindarov sacrificed a knight, finding the only chance to keep the fight going. Despite having a material disadvantage, he had an opportunity to almost completely equalize the position. But at the critical moment, he made another mistake, after which Pragnanandhaa was able to simplify the game and bring the game to victory.
In the second round, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Vincent Keymer also won. In the battle of French grandmasters, Vachier-Lagrave with black defeated Alireza Firouzja, while Keymer beat Romanian Bogdan-Daniel Deac. The games Fabiano Caruana vs. Anish Giri and Jorden van Foreest vs. Wesley So ended in draws.
After two rounds, Pragnanandhaa, Vachier-Lagrave, and Keymer lead with 1.5 points each. In the third round, Sindarov will play white against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. The third-round games will take place on May 16.
The Grand Chess Tour is not a single tournament but a series of events. The stage in Poland, the tournament in Romania, and subsequent stages in Croatia and the USA are part of the overall GCT-2026 season. Each tournament has its own winner, separate standings, and prize fund, but results also count towards the overall tour standings: players receive tour points for their placements in the stages. Based on the results of five stages, the players with the best overall scores qualify for the Grand Chess Tour final.
Super Chess Classic Romania is taking place in Bucharest from May 14 to 24 and is the first of two classical tournaments within the Grand Chess Tour. The format is a round-robin with 10 participants, where each player plays one game against every other. A total of nine rounds are scheduled, one per day. Games are played with classical time control: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 30 minutes until the end of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move one.
Source: www.gazeta.uz