Javokhir Sindarov: The Boy Who Played His Way to Greatness

Photo: Frans Peeters Photography / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Javokhir Sindarov learned chess from his grandfather when he was four and a half years old. His grandfather, Komil Sindarov, is a vice president of Uzbekistan's chess federation, and he also writes detective novels.

About 16 years later, the grandson won the Candidates Tournament, the event that decides who plays for the world title. Here is his story, a game he won at 11 against another future star, and five more of his early games you can study.

A Family of Players

Javokhir was born on December 8, 2005, in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. His father is a businessman and his mother is a schoolteacher. He has three younger brothers, and one of them, Islombek, plays chess too.

He showed his talent fast. By five or six he was winning city and regional tournaments. In 2012 he won the Asian School Championship for players under seven. In 2014 he and Islombek both won gold medals at the World School Championship in rapid and blitz, Javokhir in the under-9 section and Islombek in the under-7.

From International Master to Grandmaster in a Year

• In October 2017 he became an International Master, at 11.
• In June 2018 he earned his first grandmaster norm, a result that counts toward the title, at the Alekhine Memorial.
• In September 2018 he finished second at the World Junior Championship, and his rating reached 2500.
• In October 2018 he earned his third norm at the First Saturday tournament in Budapest, at 12 years, 10 months and 8 days. At the time only one player in history had done it younger.

The game below is from the year before, when he was 11.

The Game: Javokhir Sindarov vs. R Praggnanandhaa, St. Petersburg 2017

Javokhir Sindarov 1-0 R Praggnanandhaa Chigorin Memorial, St. Petersburg · Round 9 · October 29, 2017 White: Javokhir Sindarov, age 11, rated 2406 · Black: R Praggnanandhaa, rated 2503

Praggnanandhaa was another child prodigy, and he is now one of the best players in the world too. The two have met many times since, including at the 2026 Candidates.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5 Qe7 7.Qe2 Nd5 8.c4 Ba6 9.b3 g6 10.f4 d6 11.Qf2 Nf6 12.Ba3 Qe6 13.Be2 dxe5 14.Bxf8 Kxf8 15.O-O exf4 16.Qxf4 Kg7 17.Nc3 Rhe8 18.Rf2 Qd6 19.Qxd6 cxd6

The queens are off by move 19. For the next ten moves, our Stockfish 16 check rates Praggnanandhaa slightly better, up to about a pawn. Sindarov keeps his pieces active and waits.

20.Bf3 Rac8 21.Rd2 d5 22.Na4 Rcd8 23.Rad1 Re5 24.Nc5 Bc8 25.Nd3 Re7 26.Nb4 Bb7 27.cxd5 cxd5 28.Rc2 a5 29.Nd3 d4 30.Bxb7 Rxb7

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

After 30...Rxb7, White to move. Black has a passed pawn on d4, one that no white pawn can stop. Our engine rates Black about half a pawn better.

Analyze this position in the full game

31.Rc5 Ra7 32.Ne5 h5 33.Nc6 Rc7 34.Rc4 Rd5 35.Nxa5 Rcd7 36.Nc6 d3 37.Rd2 Ng4 38.h3 Ne5 39.Nxe5 Rxe5

Sindarov won Black's a-pawn with 35.Nxa5, and then the knights came off. Now each side has two rooks, and the game becomes a race. Black has a passed pawn on d3. White has two pawns on the queenside, on a2 and b3, with no black pawns left on that side to stop them.

The Pawn Race

40.a4 g5 41.b4 f5 42.Kf2 h4 43.b5 Kg6 44.b6

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

After 40...g5, White to move. White's a- and b-pawns have no black pawns in front of them. Black's d-pawn is deep in White's half. Who is faster?

Analyze this position in the full game

The two white pawns march side by side. Pawns that stand next to each other like this are called connected passed pawns, and they protect each other as they go.

44...Kh5

Our engine rates this as the moment the game turns. Black's king heads for the kingside pawns, away from the queenside. Our engine preferred 44...g4, which keeps the game level. After 44...Kh5 it rates White more than three pawns ahead.

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

After 44...Kh5, White to move. The black king has gone to the edge of the board, far from the white pawns on a4 and b6.

Analyze this position in the full game

45.Rb4 Ree7 46.a5 g4 47.a6 g3+ 48.Kf1 Rd8 49.b7 Rc7

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

After 49...Rc7, White to move. The pawn on b7 is one step from becoming a queen, and the pawn on a6 is right behind it. The rook on b4 guards the b-file.

Analyze this position in the full game

50.Rd1 d2 51.b8=Q

Black's d-pawn got to d2, one step from the end. White's b-pawn got there first. The official game score ends with 51.b8=Q and White's win.

Five More Sindarov Games to Study

These five games are from 2016 to 2018, before he became a grandmaster. Set each one up on a board, or play through it on your computer, and look for the idea in the note. The engine numbers come from our own Stockfish 16, searching to depth 18 or 20.

• Javokhir Sindarov vs. Vasily Volovich, World Cadets Under-12, Batumi, October 22, 2016 (1-0). After 11...b6, 12.f5 is our engine's first choice. It is a pawn break: a pawn move that attacks the enemy pawns to open lines for your pieces. The game is over by move 30.
• Javokhir Sindarov vs. Nodirbek Yakubboev, Agzamov Memorial, Tashkent, May 8, 2017 (1-0). A long endgame against a player rated 67 points higher. At move 45 our engine calls it level. Then follow White's d-pawn: 54.d5, 55.d6, 56.d7. It ties Black's pieces down for the rest of the game. Yakubboev is now Sindarov's Olympiad teammate.
• Javokhir Sindarov vs. Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Zonal tournament, Tashkent, June 23, 2017 (1-0). A game between two Uzbek boys who both became top grandmasters. 12.Nd5 gives up a knight for a pawn, and our engine picks it as White's best move. After 13.exd5+ and 14.Nf5, Black's king goes to f8 and can no longer castle. White's attack grows from there.
• Javokhir Sindarov vs. Johan-Sebastian Christiansen, World Junior Championship, Gebze, September 10, 2018 (1-0). From the event where he finished second. 19.Rxf6 gives up a rook for a knight to break open the pawns in front of Black's king. Our engine rates it as White's best move by a wide margin. Then the white knights jump to f5 and h6.
• Javokhir Sindarov vs. Minh Thang Tran, First Saturday, Budapest, October 16, 2018 (1-0). From the event where he completed the grandmaster title. 16.Nf5, our engine's first choice, and 17.Rxe7+ give up pieces to drag Black's king into the open. Then 19.Qe3+ checks the king and attacks the rook on a7 at the same time. See the diagram below.

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

Sindarov vs. Tran, Budapest 2018, after 19.Qe3+, Black to move. The queen checks the king on e7 along the e-file, and attacks the rook on a7 along the diagonal. Black must deal with the check, and then the rook falls.

Analyze this positionReview the full game

Grandmaster, World Cup Winner, Challenger

Sindarov kept climbing. In 2022 he won Olympiad gold with Uzbekistan. In 2025 he won the World Cup, beating Wei Yi in the final, and became the tournament's youngest winner and the first from Uzbekistan. In April 2026 he won the Candidates Tournament with 10 points out of 14, the highest score in that event's current format. He is due to play Gukesh Dommaraju for the world title from November 24 to December 12, 2026.

He is playing for Uzbekistan at the Olympiad in Samarkand right now. You can read about his game with Wesley So from Round 9 in Two Rooks on the Seventh Rank.

A Habit to Practice

Set up the position after 40...g5 and play it out against a friend or a computer, with White. Push the a- and b-pawns together, and count, move by move, who will queen first.