$2.5 million battle: How are Sindarov and Gukesh preparing for a 5-hour marathon?

9 November 2026, 13:24·6·Sport

There is very little time left until the most important and highly anticipated event in the history of Uzbek chess. In the World Chess Championship match to be hosted by the Swiss city of Geneva, our compatriot, the winner of the Candidates Tournament Javohir Sindarov, will sit across the board from the reigning world champion, India's Gukesh Dommaraju.

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has approved the official regulations and time control format for this historic clash. The presented format stands out as one of the most complex and physically demanding conditions in classical chess.

Each game will last more than 5 hours: What is the time control?

According to the tournament rules, the following time distribution has been introduced to allow grandmasters to think long and deeply about each move:

For the first 40 moves: Each player is allotted 120 minutes (2 hours);
From move 41 onwards: An additional 30 minutes are added for the remainder of the players' game;
Additional seconds: Starting from move 41, 30 seconds are added for each move made.

This time control is considered one of the longest-lasting formats in classical chess. As a result, a single game is expected to last up to 5-6 hours, requiring not only high intellect but also great psychological endurance and physical stamina from the athletes.

Key indicators of the title fight

All important details of the World Championship match are summarized in the table below:

Indicator	Established standard / Detail
Competition date	November 24 to December 12
Host city and venue	Geneva (Switzerland), Martin Bodmer Foundation
Number of games	14 classical games
Result required for victory	First to reach 7.5 points
In case of a 7:7 tie	The winner is determined via rapid chess (tie-break)
Total prize fund	2.5 million US dollars

The intrigue of an uncompromising battle

At the end of the 14 classical games, the grandmaster who is the first to collect 7.5 points will become the new owner of the chess crown. If the main matches end in a draw (7:7), the owner of the world crown will be decided in tie-break matches (rapid and blitz).

20-year-old Uzbek Javohir Sindarov is preparing to demonstrate the high skill of our national chess school across the board against one of the strongest grandmasters of his generation in this match.