The famous Uzbek chess player Javohir Sindorov on April 7, in the eighth round of the 2026 Candidates Tournament held in Cyprus, drew with Russian grandmaster Andrey Yesipenko. The opponents agreed to end the game in a draw after the 24th move.
Currently, Sindorov has scored 6.5 points out of 8 possible (5 wins and 3 draws) and maintains sole leadership in the tournament standings. Despite losing a point, he further increased the gap with his closest rival Fabiano Caruana, as the American grandmaster lost to another US representative, Hikaru Nakamura, and is now 2 points behind Sindorov.
The match between the third and fourth place holders, Anish Giri (Netherlands) and Rameshbabu Praggnanandha (India), also ended in a draw, and they could not move up. Additionally, fifth and sixth place holders Matthias Bluebaum (Germany) and Wei Yi (China) also agreed to a draw.
Today, April 8, Sindorov will play the ninth round against Bluebaum with the black pieces. Their first-round game had also ended in a draw.
In an interview after the match with Yesipenko, Sindorov stated that he focused not on taking risks but on a reliable strategy:
“I expected a Catalan opening from my opponent. After the debut, the prepared position I had emerged, and I liked it. Andrey thought for a long time. At that moment I realized that if I do not sacrifice a pawn, we would only have a small advantage, but the game would be long. Therefore, I sacrificed a pawn for the initiative,” he said.
According to him, after this sacrifice, the position became much more favorable, and he evaluates the result as positive: “I really liked that situation. Today's result is good for me.”
When asked whether the draw result affects his game, Sindorov replied: “There have been draws before. The most important thing for me is to play quality chess. If the opportunity arises, I always try to put pressure on the opponent.”
Sindorov also recalled that the first move in the game was made by Brazilian footballer David Luiz: “Both Andrey and I are football fans. When such guests come, we are very happy.”
Speaking about the leak of his preparation, he noted that it concerned old variations, and after that he became more cautious.
When asked about preparation materials leaking on the Lichess platform, Sindorov said he does not consider it a serious problem: “No, it is not a problem. I don’t even remember the last time I opened those records. But during the World Cup, fans wrote to me like that. Since then, I have become much more cautious and try not to use such analyses.”
On a question about attention from world stars like Magnus Carlsen, Sindorov said he is trying not to get distracted by external evaluations: “Yes, I understand that my participation looks strong, but it is just one tournament. The competition is still ongoing, and I try not to be distracted by such things.”
In conclusion, he responded to the warm words of his compatriot Nodirbek Abdusattorov: “It is very pleasant to hear this. We have played together in many tournaments and are close friends. I am happy for him — he won three major tournaments. I hope that someday he will also become world champion.”
For reference, the 2026 Candidates Tournament, which began on March 29 in Cyprus, will continue until April 15. It involves 8 of the strongest grandmasters in the world, who play each other in two rounds (14 rounds in total). The winner will earn the right to compete for the chess crown against the reigning world champion Dommaraju Gukesh.
