Uzbek grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov suffered his first classical chess loss in eight months, falling to Indian prodigy Rameshbabu Pragnanandhaa in the second round of the Super Chess Classic Romania tournament. The defeat ended his remarkable 53-game unbeaten streak in classical chess.

In an interview with the Saint Louis Chess Club, Sindarov admitted to a critical opening mistake: “I think yesterday I chose the wrong variation. You know, this line could have worked against any other opponent except Pragg, because he really knows it well.”

According to Sindarov, one of his seconds informed him that a commentator had noted during the broadcast that Pragnanandhaa likely had this analysis in his preparation. “If he knows this variation, then White had big problems. So it was a serious mistake,” the grandmaster said.

On May 16, Sindarov drew quickly with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the third round. He explained that he aimed for a solid game given his poor personal record against the Frenchman: “Actually, my statistics against Maxime have always been bad. We have played a lot in rapid and blitz, and he has consistently beaten me.”

Sindarov also acknowledged that he may not have fully recovered from his victory at the Candidates Tournament earlier this year. “Perhaps the problem is that I didn’t take this tournament seriously enough. I think that’s my big mistake, because after the Candidates I probably needed a bit more rest,” he said.

He described the tournament as a “good lesson” and vowed to follow his coach’s advice: to play solidly and avoid excessive pressure in every game. In the fourth round, Sindarov will play white against Anish Giri.

The Super Chess Classic Romania is a classical tournament within the Grand Chess Tour, held in Bucharest from May 14-24. Ten players compete in a round-robin format.

Source: www.gazeta.uz