Javhohir Sindarov wins tournament in the USA ahead of World Chess Championship match

Uzbek grandmaster Javhohir Sindarov won the international tournament Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown, which was held in St. Louis, United States of America. He scored 20.5 points.

The second place was finished by Indian grandmaster Ramesh Babu Pragnananda, scoring 19 points. Third place was taken by American player Fabiano Caruana with 16.5 points, and fourth place was awarded to Hikaru Nakamura, who scored 12 points.

During the three-day competition, Sindarov faced several leading world grandmasters and surpassed his closest rival, Pragnananda, by 1.5 points.

The total prize fund of the tournament amounted to 425,000 US dollars. Sindarov received 125,000 US dollars for first place. In addition, participants were eligible for extra cash bonuses for winning individual games, and the champion received a separate jackpot.

The Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown tournament was the last competition for Sindarov before the match against the reigning world champion Gukesh Dhummaraju.

Uzbek grandmaster Javhohir Sindarov will take part in the prestigious Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown 2026 tournament. The competition will be held in St. Louis from October 27 to 29, and for Sindarov, this will serve as final preparation before the upcoming world championship match.

Four grandmasters will participate at the St. Louis Chess Club: Sindarov, along with Americans Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana, and Indian Ramesh Babu Pragnanandhan. The tournament format is designed for intense confrontation, where each player will play three opponents twice, using both white and black pieces.

The chess players are expected to play six games daily, totaling 18 games for the entire tournament. The time control is set at 10 minutes, with an increment of five seconds for each move made. A special feature is the changing rewards for victory: one point is awarded on the first day, two on the second, and three on the final day. For a draw, participants receive half or one point, respectively.

In addition, there are financial prizes for victories: $1000 on October 27, $2000 on October 28, and $3000 on October 29. The total prize fund for the event reaches $425 thousand. The winner will receive $125 thousand, the silver medalist $94 thousand, the third-place finisher $72 thousand, and the fourth participant $62 thousand.

The first games are scheduled for October 27 at 22:00 Tashkent time. This tournament is critically important for Sindarov, as it is a general rehearsal before the decisive match for the world chess crown against Indian Gukesh Dommaraju. This match will take place in Geneva from November 22 to December 13.

Young chess players from Uzbekistan achieved significant success at the FIDE World Chess Championships for players aged 7 to 17, which was held in Spain. As a result of their participation, the Uzbekistan team won five awards: one gold, three silver, and one bronze.

World Championship Results

Lazizabon Komiljonova became the world champion among girls under 13, taking first place in her age group. Three other representatives of Uzbekistan were among the silver medalists: Saifuddin Erkinboev won second place among boys under 9, Sarvinoz Begmuratova took second place among U13 girls, and Akbar Mustafakulov became a silver medalist among U11 boys.

Khusnorahon Husnidinova won the bronze medal among girls under 11. Additionally, other athletes from the team demonstrated good achievements: Aminabon Zokhirova took fifth place among girls under 9, and Fazliddin Farhodov finished seventh among boys of the same age category.

It is worth noting that previously, a seven-year-old chess player from Uzbekistan, Muhammadyusuf Bahromov, had already won a gold medal at the Asian School Championship, scoring 8 out of 9 possible points in that tournament.