Uzbek grandmaster Yavhohir Sindarov won the silver medal at the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament. According to a statement from the Grand Chess Tour press service, Sindarov trailed the winner, Indian grandmaster R Praggnanand, by only 1.5 points.
The competition, which opened the final stage of the 2026 Grand Chess Tour, took place at the Saint Louis Chess Club from July 31 to August 7. Ten leading grandmasters participated in the five-day tournament, playing nine rounds in rapid chess format and 18 rounds in blitz format, totaling 135 games. The results of these games will influence the rating before the Sinquefield Cup and the Grand Chess Tour final.
Sindarov scored 11 points in the rapid format and 11 points in blitz, totaling 22 points. Praggnanand, on the other hand, scored 12 points in the rapid format and 11.5 points in blitz, finishing the tournament with a total score of 23.5 points.
For most of the tournament, Sindarov stayed close to the leader. Praggnanand took the lead in the second round and maintained this advantage until the end of the competition. The title contender intensified the pressure on the last day of blitz, trying to catch up to his opponent. The decisive game was played between them in the penultimate round.
Praggnanand only needed a draw to win the tournament, and he achieved the desired result by successfully defending the pawnless endgame. He won both stages of the competition—both rapid and blitz.
Seven regular participants in the tour took part: Fabiano Caruana, Yavhohir Sindarov, Vincent Keimer, Wesley So, Anish Giri, R Praggnanand, and Jordan van Foreest. Three invited participants joined them: Leunier Dominguez, Levon Aronian, and Avonder Liang.
The total prize fund for the tournament was 200,000 US dollars. Praggnanand received $50,000 for first place, and Sindarov earned $40,000 for second place. American grandmaster Wesley So finished third and received $30,000. Levon Aronian ranked next and received $20,000. Jordan van Foreest, Fabiano Caruana, and Leunier Dominguez shared fifth to seventh place, each receiving $12,000.
Uzbek grandmaster Javhohir Sindarov achieved second place at the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament, which was the fourth stage of the elite 2026 Grand Chess Tour series. He secured second place in both rapid and blitz disciplines, accumulating a total of 22 points.
The competition took place from August 2 to 6 and included nine rapid games and eighteen blitz games. In rapid, two points were awarded for a win and one for a draw, while the standard system was used in blitz: one point for a win and half a point for a draw. The total prize fund for this stage amounted to $200,000.
Based on the results of nine rapid rounds, Sindarov accumulated 11 points, which earned him second place. Ramesh Babu Pragnanandh from India led the rapid with 12 points, and Wesley So from the USA scored 10 points. Sindarov's performance in rapid reached 2739, slightly above his rating before the stage, which was 2730.
In blitz, the Uzbek player was only one point behind the leader. In the first nine blitz games, Sindarov earned 5.5 points, maintaining second position. A special success came during the period from the fourth to the sixth round, when he won three consecutive matches against Fabiano Caruana, Evonder Lyan, and Lenger Dominguez.
One of the important games on the first day of blitz was against Pragnanandh. Sindarov gained an advantage in the form of an extra pawn and, according to Chess.com, a winning position, but made a mistake in the pawn endgame, leading to a draw agreement with his opponent. If he had won, the gap to the leader would have been reduced to half a point. Sindarov explained his move at the decisive moment with the phrase: 'I saw that I was winning with almost any move.'
After the first blitz round, the overall standings were as follows: Pragnanandh had 18 points, Sindarov had 16.5, and So had 15.
On the second day, Sindarov again scored 5.5 points out of nine. After a draw with Levon Aronian, he consecutively defeated Jordan van Foreest and Vincent Kaimer, although he later lost to Caruana, but managed to beat Anish Giri later. Before the end of the tournament, the gap to Pragnanandh had decreased to half a point at one point.
In the penultimate, seventeenth blitz round, the leaders met. Despite Sindarov having an extra pawn, Pragnanandh managed to maintain his position. The draw allowed the Indian chess player to win the tournament a round before its conclusion. In the final round, Sindarov drew with Wesley So.
After all eighteen blitz games, Pragnanandh scored 11.5 points, Sindarov scored 11, and So scored 10.5, while Aronian scored 10. The Uzbek player achieved five wins, suffered two losses, and played 11 draws. His performance was 2749, which was the second result of the tournament after Pragnanandh's 2771. During the competition, Sindarov's blitz rating increased by nine points.
In the overall standings, Pragnanandh took first place with 23.5 points (12 in rapid and 11.5 in blitz). Sindarov became second with a total score of 22 points (11+11). Wesley So took third place with 20.5 points, and Levon Aronian took fourth with 19 points.
Following them in the rankings were Lenger Dominguez, Fabiano Caruana, and Jordan van Foreest, each scoring 17 points. Anish Giri received 15.5 points, Vincent Kaimer received 14.5, and Evonder Lyan received 14 points.
The prize distribution was as follows: the winner received $50,000, Sindarov received $40,000, So received $30,000, and Aronian received $20,000.
For Pragnanandh, this victory was the second at a single stage of the Grand Chess Tour in his career; previously, he had won the series stage in Bucharest in May 2025. After the tournament, Pragnanandh highly praised the fight with the representative from Uzbekistan, noting: 'Everything looks smooth from the outside if you look at the final score, but it wasn't like that. It was crazy. Javhohir must be credited—he fought until the very end.'
Sindarov himself stated that he learned useful lessons from the loss to Caruana and is generally satisfied with his play, adding: 'Sometimes playing well is not enough. You also need luck.'
The result achieved in St. Louis is of great importance for Sindarov's fight for a spot in the Grand Chess Tour final. For second place, he earned 10 series points, which raised him to fifth place in the overall standings with 20.5 points. Currently, Fabiano Caruana leads with 25 points, followed by Pragnanandh with 24.5 and Wesley So with 23.5. The fourth qualifying position belongs to Vincent Kaimer with 21 points. Thus, Sindarov is only 0.5 points away from the final zone.
Winning a Grand Chess Tour stage awards 13 points, second place awards 10, and third place awards 8. Other participants receive between 7 and 1 point. When determining the ranking, points allocated for the respective positions are summed up. Four top players in the overall standings will qualify for the Grand Chess Tour final, with the number one seed playing against the fourth, and the second against the third.
The Sinquefield Cup will be the decisive moment, taking place in St. Louis from August 10 to 20 in classical chess format and will be the fifth and final stage of the regular part of the Grand Chess Tour. Sindarov needs to overtake Kaimer in the overall standings to qualify for the series final in his debut GCT season. The Grand Chess Tour final itself is scheduled for August 22–27 in St. Louis, and its prize fund will be $450,000, of which the winner will receive $200,000.
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.
