Sindarov opens Candidates tournament with a victory

On March 29, Uzbek grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov began his campaign at the FIDE Candidates Tournament. In his opening game, Sindarov defeated a Russian grandmaster.

The tournament, which got under way on March 28 this year, is being held in Paphos, Cyprus. Uzbekistan is being represented by Javokhir Sindarov in this prestigious competition, which features eight of the world’s strongest grandmasters.

In the first round, Javokhir delivered a confident performance to beat Russian grandmaster Andrey Esipenko 1-0.

Following the opening round, Javokhir Sindarov joined Fabiano Caruana and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa at the top of the standings with one point each.

On March 30, the second-round games will be played. Sindarov, with the white pieces, will face German grandmaster Matthias Bluebaum. The game is scheduled to start at 17:30 Tashkent time.

The winner of the tournament will earn the right to play reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju in the title match.

For reference, Javokhir Sindarov is the first Uzbek chess player to compete in a tournament that offers a chance to play for the world title.