The chess world has a new "Windarov," and he is blowing toward the World Championship throne. In a display of dominance rarely seen in the modern era, 20-year-old Uzbek Grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov clinicaly secured the FIDE Candidates 2026 title on Tuesday.
By holding his closest rival, Anish Giri, to a resolute draw in Round 13, Sindarov maintained his two-point lead and ensured his status as the official challenger to the reigning World Champion, D. Gukesh. The victory sets up a historic "next-gen" showdown later this year, with both combatants aged just 20, a first for a World Championship match.
Sindarov’s performance in Cyprus has been driven by deadly home preparation and a blistering pace that has systematically dismantled the world’s top players. Across 13 rounds, he is still unbeaten with six wins, including a dominant early stretch in which he scored five victories in his first seven games.
Whether it was forcing Hikaru Nakamura into a 67-minute mid-game meditation or outplaying Fabiano Caruana from the opening, the "Uzbek Tornado" has rendered even the greatest of the game nearly helpless.
The sheer impact of Sindarov's performance is best captured by the legends and rivals who witnessed it firsthand.
My wife asked me the other day what’s going on with Sindarov’s performance. She asked ‘Have you ever done anything like that?’... And I was like, ‘Yeah, thanks for asking, but not really.’ Which just goes to show that his performance is very, very special.
Magnus Carlsen
Nobody’s had a good event at the Candidates, besides Javokhir. He’s played better here than every other player combined. No one’s even been close. When someone is playing great chess, playing fast and with a lot of confidence, it’s tough to deal with.
Hikaru Nakamura
I would have done anything but not sleep [in kindergarten]. Later that evening, I bragged to my grandfather that I could play chess... He asked me, ‘show me how the pieces move’. And I didn’t know anything! So he chided me, ‘How can you learn chess without knowing how pieces move?’
On his tryst with chess
I’m a very aggressive player. When I was young, I was always playing aggressive lines, a lot of gambits, openings like Kings Indian. Always playing tricky lines since childhood! This helps me play rapid and blitz chess very well
On his style of play
When other players my age worked 10 hours a day, I was playing Counter Strike for three to four hours a day. The COVID quarantine really helped me a lot because I got tired of playing Counter Strike and told myself it’s time to get back to chess. But I’m very happy with how I have spent my life.
On coming back to chess after "counter-strike"
"Windarov" pun: While chess followers have dubbed him "Windarov" for his winning ways, Sindarov admits he isn't a big fan of the nickname.
GM pedigree: Sindarov became a GM at age 12, clinicaly ranking higher on the youngest-ever list than Magnus Carlsen, Praggnanandhaa, and Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
2025 strategy: While his peers played every classical event possible, Sindarov clinicaly played just four events in 2025, focusing instead on a massive training burst in early 2026.
Round 13 defense: Facing Giri’s 1. e4, Sindarov clinicaly forced a queenless middlegame and a threefold repetition to end any hopes of a late-tournament comeback for the Dutchman.
Javokhir Sindarov has pulled off a show of strength that few believed achievable in the unforgiving arena of the Candidates. Combining lightning-fast intuition with deadly home preparation, he has taken apart the established elite. As the "Uzbek Tornado" advances toward a World Championship showdown with Gukesh, the chess world braces for a confrontation that signals the clear end of one era and the decisive beginning of another.
