Uzbek grandmaster Javhohir Sindarov won the silver medal in the rapid event of the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz 2026 tournament, which is the final rapid and blitz tournament within the Grand Chess Tour.
Uzbek grandmaster Javhohir Sindarov won the silver medal in the rapid event of the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz 2026 tournament, which is the final rapid and blitz tournament within the Grand Chess Tour.
Sindarov scored 11 points after nine rounds, trailing by only one point from the rapid stage winner, Ramesh Babu Pragnanandhi from India. The third place was taken by American grandmaster Wesley So, who scored 10 points.
According to the rapid format, a win was valued at two points, and a draw at one. Sindarov had seven draws and achieved two victories, finishing the tournament without any losses.
On the first day, he drew with Anish Giri and Vincent Keimer, and then defeated Jordan van Foreest. After three rounds, Sindarov had four points out of possible six and shared second place with Wesley So, ahead of Pragnanandhi by one point.
On the second day, Sindarov drew with Pragnanandhi, Levon Aronian, and Fabiano Caruana. Against the tournament leader, the Uzbek grandmaster managed to save a difficult position, and his game against Aronian ended in a draw by repetition after he approached victory. After six rounds, he maintained second place with seven points.
On the last day of the rapid competition, Sindarov drew with Giri, defeated American grandmaster Avonder Liang, confidently utilizing positional advantage, and finished the tournament with a draw against Keimer.
Despite the loss to van Foreest in the last round, Pragnanandhi maintained first place with 12 points. Sindarov finished in second place with 11 points, and Wesley So took third place with 10 points.
After the completion of the rapid stage, the tournament will continue with a blitz competition, where players will participate in 18 games in a double round-robin format. One point is awarded for a win, and half a point for a draw.
The Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz runs from August 2nd to 6th and includes the participation of 10 grandmasters. The total prize fund is 200,000 US dollars, with the winner receiving 50,000 US dollars.
The head of the International Federation of Football, Gianni Infantino, managed to keep his position amid a major scandal related to World Cup rights. Following a lengthy seven-hour summit held in Rabat, the FIFA executive committee, together with Secretary General Matthias Grafström, approved the mandate of the current organization chief.
To resolve the conflict that arose, FIFA leadership sent official communications to all national federations. In his address, Infantino admitted mistakes, publicly apologized for the attempt to attract private capital to host tournaments, and promised not to resume this strategy in the future. The fact that information about confidential negotiations leaked to the media caused particular dissatisfaction among officials.
The outrage began after it became known that FIFA management planned to transfer a 20% stake in the world championships to a group of investors led by American businessman Joshua Kushner. This project faced strong opposition: UEFA warned of its readiness to completely boycott the World Cup from European national teams, and leading continental clubs categorically rejected support for this initiative.
As a result, on August 1st, FIFA promptly canceled all previously reached agreements on the sale of rights. Infantino has led the global football organization continuously since 2016. Although his current term ends in 2027, the sports figure does not rule out the possibility of running for the next period.
The international tournament 'Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz 2026' is ongoing in Saint Louis, USA. Nine rounds of blitz-format competitions have concluded within this tournament.
At the regular meeting of the Executive Committee of the Uzbekistan Futsal Federation, issues regarding the development of futsal were discussed. During the meeting, preparations for the 2026/2027 futsal season, as well as the initial stages of the country's National League matches and the Uzbekistan Supercup meetings scheduled for September 2nd, were reviewed.
