The star of Uzbek chess Javokhir Sindarov spoke in detail about his thoughts and his situation in the Candidates Tournament at a press conference after Round 10.
In this round, he played with the white pieces and defeated the young Indian grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, increasing his total score to 8 points and further strengthening his lead in the standings.
Currently, Sindarov’s closest pursuer is the Dutch player Anish Giri, and the gap between them is 2 points. The number of remaining rounds is very small, so it is considered almost impossible to eliminate this advantage.
In addition, the Uzbek grandmaster has already set a new historic result in this tournament — he has become the player with the most wins in the Candidates Tournament. Until now, no player had achieved 6 victories, and Sindarov has surpassed this mark, breaking the tournament record.
At the press conference, he openly admitted that he made a mistake at the beginning of the game against the Indian opponent. According to him, he briefly lost focus from his preparation and quickly played the wrong move instead of the correct one.
“Honestly, at one point I forgot my preparation and quickly played a different move instead of the required one. That was my mistake. But then I quickly gathered myself and regained control of the position. It took a little time, but I got the game back under control. In the end, luck also helped,” he said.
Sindarov also noted that during the game he decided to sacrifice a piece in order to seize the initiative. In his view, this decision helped him gain an advantage in the endgame and achieve a position where his piece became stronger than the opponent’s two rooks thanks to extra pawns.
The young chess player also did not hide that he feels close to winning the tournament, but reminded that important challenges still remain ahead.
“I am very close to the goal, but there are still two important games left. Both will be with the black pieces. Therefore, I am trying not to think about the result and just focus on playing,” he said.
He also recalled that in the previous round he missed a winning position against German grandmaster Matthias Bluebaum, which put him under pressure. However, he managed to restore his psychological stability after a conversation with his coach.
“The pressure in the tournament is definitely noticeable. Yesterday I could not convert a winning position. Then my coach told me: ‘If you deserve this title, you will get it anyway. If not, we will work even harder. Think not about the result, but about the game.’ I am trying to follow that,” Sindarov said.
He also recalled his plans before the tournament. He had said that even a +1 result would be good, but now the situation has completely changed.
“Before the tournament I thought even +1 would be a good result. Then I would play more calmly. Now everything is completely different. Every game is very difficult, the pressure is high. Yesterday before the game I was even okay with a draw, but then I was disappointed that I missed the opportunity,” he said.
Answering questions about the record, Sindarov said he is not thinking about statistics and results at the moment.
“I am not thinking about that at all. The tournament is not over. The most important thing is preparation for the next game. Right now I need to recover and prepare well for the games with the black pieces,” he added.
To remind, April 10 was a rest day in the tournament. On April 11, Sindarov will play with the black pieces against one of the main favorites — Fabiano Caruana. Caruana was considered one of the main contenders to win the tournament, but he is currently in third place with 5 points.
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