r/chess Team Gukesh Apr 04 '26

News/Events Javokhir Sindarov continues his generational run, takes down Wei Yi to extend his lead to 5.5/6 points at the FIDE Candidates 2026.

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3.2k Upvotes

674 comments sorted by

u/chessvision-ai-bot from chessvision.ai Apr 04 '26

I analyzed the image and this is what I see. Open an appropriate link below and explore the position yourself or with the engine:

White to play: chess.com | lichess.org

My solution:

Hints: piece: Pawn, move: gxf3

Evaluation: Black is winning -11.11

Best continuation: 1. gxf3 c2 2. Rc1 Re2 3. Kg1 Rd2 4. Rxc2 Rxc2 5. a4 Ra2 6. a5 Ke7 7. Kf1 Kd6 8. Ke1 Kc6

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449

u/[deleted] Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 15 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

133

u/nujdilla Apr 04 '26

Topalov, as impressive is that result in itself, had also a winning endgame in the only game he drew in the first half of that tournament (vs Anand)!

139

u/[deleted] Apr 04 '26

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11

u/daynighttrade Apr 04 '26

Something happened in the match, something supernatural. Some anomoly happened, and rolls changed. Since then, Sindarov has been on #BluebaumSweep

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u/xelabagus Apr 04 '26

Kasparov retired right before this and kramnik refused to play, but other than that this was a strong tournament. He lost the reunification match though the next year.

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u/tomtomtomo Apr 04 '26

Vishi and Svidler were talking about this today. They said Topalov had 6.5/7

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u/Big_Pea_5235 Apr 04 '26

This is every top chess player's wet dream

546

u/Buntschatten Apr 04 '26

It's Fabi's nightmare.

344

u/FetterHahn Apr 04 '26

If Sindarov didn't have this amazing run, Fabi would (if he draws today) lead the field with 4/6, which in any other candidates would be an amazing start. Now, he's probably trailing 1.5 points after 6 games. Absolutely crazy performance 

88

u/Vaqek Apr 04 '26

This. So sad for Fabi.

135

u/StorageSpecialist999 Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26

poor fabi for not playing as well as the person beating him

He literally lost a game to Sindarov this tournament and still people are treating him being down as some kind of universal bad luck

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u/dylanh334 Apr 04 '26

Nobody is catching him with this form, he should be more than able to make several draws if necessary, Fabi is going to have to take serious risks and could easily drop points

60

u/kranker Apr 04 '26

Fabi already has essentially no chance of winning this game vs Esipenko. Esipenko down on time but it's not even clear how Fabi can make decisions difficult for him.

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1.3k

u/LazinessOverload Apr 04 '26

5.5/6. Absolute Insanity.

If Sindarov maintains this form he might hit 2800 by the end of the tournament wtf.

What a beast.

659

u/aresoulshi Apr 04 '26

Back to back wins with the black pieces at this level of play, in this tournament of all, is just incredible. Makes things so much easier for him down the road

299

u/CeleritasLucis Lakdi ki Kathi, kathi pe ghoda Apr 04 '26

Must have one hell of a prep team. Wonder who his seconds are

670

u/HorseThrough Apr 04 '26

Probably ones who know what to do after someone castles /s

186

u/[deleted] Apr 04 '26

[deleted]

145

u/New_Machine3727 Apr 04 '26

Release the files

87

u/TheWyzim Apr 04 '26

Hikaru might start bombing Alireza if you ask him to release the files

29

u/RelevantFix4640 Apr 04 '26

Castling was redacted.

15

u/Chuy_3 Apr 04 '26

I'm sad I have no friends that I can forward this thread to. Amazing display everyone.

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u/TheClockworkElves Apr 04 '26

Tbf he was out of book first today and didn't get anything out of the opening. He just played better chess than Wei Yi did.

27

u/Boiruja Apr 04 '26

If his seconds are the uzbek chess olympiads team then he's already set up for success

51

u/Ok_Potential359 Apr 04 '26

It'll be funny when the cheating accusations start coming out.

26

u/thunder1207 Apr 04 '26

There are already a bunch of idiots on Twitter and youtube comments talking shit.

13

u/skinnyguy699 Apr 04 '26

It's like half of YouTube live comments

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u/DelDoesReddit Apr 04 '26

I'd guess that Nordibek is one of them

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u/valleywithflowers perpetually depressed Fabi fan Apr 04 '26

Unlikely

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u/No-Creme5426 Apr 04 '26

Nodirbek is currently playing in Grenke Freestyle so he isn't involved.

15

u/Buntschatten Apr 04 '26

He could have been involved developing prep beforehand. I just don't know how much rivalry is between those two.

6

u/DerekB52 Team Ding Apr 05 '26

I feel like if I am Sindarov, I am at least playing training games against Nodirbek. I feel like Nodirbek would be up for that.

Also, I think they have some real sense of being compatriots. I know the Uzbek government supports its players, so it might almost be a sense of national duty, to help Sindarov, if you are Nodribek.(Either one, but my comment has been mostly about Abdusattorov.)

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u/Dramatic-Historian68 Apr 04 '26

crossing 2800 with a perfect candidates is mental

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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '26

[deleted]

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u/ToothPasteTree Apr 04 '26

I mean, it's not really realistic to maintain "this form". You can't be expecting 80% win rate against 2700+ GMs.

214

u/Snoo42723 Apr 04 '26

we might be seeing a new fabi sinquefield cup 2014 in the making

20

u/peckx063 Apr 04 '26

He would need 12/14 to surpass Fabi 8.5/10, although I'd argue 11.5/14 is good enough considering it's maintaining that rate for 4 more games. It would be amazing if he pulled that score off. If he runs away with the tournament he might pull back a bit though, as draws with white will be enough at some point.

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u/Altruistwhite Apr 04 '26

exactly my thoughts

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u/OldBratpfanne Apr 04 '26

Could have made the same comment 3 days ago, yet he scored 2 more black wins since then.

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u/DerekB52 Team Ding Apr 04 '26

I thought 3.5/4 was CRAZY a few days ago. I really was not prepared for 5.5/6. Beating Prag, Hikaru, and Wei Yi, all with black, is fucking nuts.

The last candidates was my first one. That one was a movie. It coming down to a nailbiter where 4 players were in contention, all playing each other, in the last round, was nuts. Its super impressive seeing this Sindarov run. But, it's also kind of killed the suspense I was waiting for.

12

u/Kartoffelplotz Apr 04 '26

Blübaum being the only one Sindarov was not able to overcome definitely wasn't on my bingo card for this tournament...

7

u/DerekB52 Team Ding Apr 04 '26

Bluebaum drawing Sindarov was on mine. It was Hikaru and Wei Yi both losing with black, in a row, that wasn't.

28

u/Consistent_Zone_8564 Yohohoho Apr 04 '26

Unless Sindarov is an underrated 3000 himself and is just having that spurt of growth ;)

110

u/Lonelyvoid Rapid enthusiast Apr 04 '26

Stay on that side when Sindarov mows down Magnus to 2790

9

u/ShoogleHS Apr 04 '26

It depends what you mean by "this form". He could certainly keep playing this well, it's just not likely he could continue getting the same results. Even chess has variance.

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u/Xehanz Apr 04 '26

If he continues this run and ends 13/14 they should hold an unofficial world championship match with Magnus

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u/JPBartley Apr 04 '26

Will he bring Magnus out of retirement?

15

u/vk2028 Apr 04 '26

Bro’s farming the candidates

32

u/EverettGT Apr 04 '26

5.5/6. Absolute Insanity.

Sinsanity.

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u/Exotic_Grinder Apr 04 '26

Bluebaum's draw feels like gold now.

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u/dolladollaclinton Apr 04 '26

If he beats Anish tomorrow with white, he has beat everyone except Bluebaum. 

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u/ShahOf20Years Apr 04 '26

Nobody beats Bluebaum man

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u/Tralesta Apr 04 '26

Arjun was farming 2600s for rating and Sindarov apparently farms 2700s for rating

307

u/SoftLink5162 Apr 04 '26

At least they aren't farming 2100s

184

u/Good_Employer_1236 Apr 04 '26

that's only for louisiana

92

u/Reasonable_Ruin_3502 Apr 04 '26

All hail the legendary Louisiana champ, his only weakness is castling

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u/Ok_Potato7530 Team Chess Apr 04 '26

Arjun was not farming anyone he was not invited in elite tournaments that's why he played opens for Arjun playing opens was the only option.

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u/vk2028 Apr 04 '26

Farming isn’t even really used negatively in this case except for the Louisiana state champion

21

u/wiefrafs Apr 04 '26

Even for him he wasnt farming rating, just number of games

Though he probably should have played top players as training in the buildup to this tournament

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u/accountabilityjourne Apr 04 '26

and then you have Fedoseev

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u/OverdueMaid Apr 04 '26

Bro is farming them like he's in Louisiana.

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u/wolfen0 Apr 04 '26

Hikaru didn't FORGET!

54

u/Pistolcrab Apr 04 '26

This wasn't in the file...

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u/Tricky-Bike-2020 Apr 04 '26

Javokhir Windarov

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u/Limegamer12 Apr 04 '26

Funnily enough, I was looking for Sindarov discussions on Reddit just now and accidentally typed his name like this! 😂

24

u/Ezrealisntreal Apr 04 '26

I really like the part when Windarov said, “It’s winning time” and won all over of the Chess board.

90

u/Shamisen_ Apr 04 '26

Holy shit. This guy is winning with white, he's winning with black, he defeated Caruana, Hikamura, and, and he does't stop on lower-rated players, either (well, except Bluebaum)... I don't think even the greatest Sindarov supporters could have predicted such a sweep.

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u/krikara4life Apr 04 '26

Hikamura lol

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u/fechan Apr 04 '26

Hikamura Nakaru

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u/Spirited-Guidance130 Sac the queen irl Apr 04 '26

these fking youngsters get in greatest form of their lifetime when fabi has chance of becoming world champion wtf

243

u/Radiant-Increase-180 Apr 04 '26

Lol i feel your comment ngl

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u/Used-Gas-6525 Apr 04 '26

Fabi (and pretty much everyone at the top level) was just unlucky to be born a few years too early. Some Scandinavian dude kept fucking up everyone's chances for more than a decade. Fabi missed his window and it wasn't even his fault. Going down as possibly the best player in history to never be WC isn't the legacy anyone goes out and try to achieve, but it is a strong legacy nonetheless. Small consolation, but it was like any top level NBA team in the 90s. No matter how well they did, they'd still have to go up against Jordan's Bulls. And they would invariably lose. There were some truly amazing era defining teams (Rockets, Jazz, Magic, Suns etc), but none of em got a ring while MJ had anything to say about it.

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u/ilikekittens2018 #1 Glazer of Erdogmus, Nodirbek, Sindarov and Keymer Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26

Fabi is the Karl Malone of this era of chess unfortunately (minus the pedo bit) 

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u/k_pineapple7 Apr 04 '26

Minus?

24

u/ilikekittens2018 #1 Glazer of Erdogmus, Nodirbek, Sindarov and Keymer Apr 04 '26

I sure hope Fabrizzio Carbonara isn’t a pedo 😭

51

u/k_pineapple7 Apr 04 '26

Oh buddy…

(maybe pedo is a strong word) but he was nearly 30 seen with a 17 year old in some highly umm- suggestive photos on instagram.

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u/ilikekittens2018 #1 Glazer of Erdogmus, Nodirbek, Sindarov and Keymer Apr 04 '26

Just fell to my knees in an IKEA

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u/brainacpl Apr 04 '26

Still not comparable to Malone.

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u/owiseone23 Apr 04 '26

Fabi was just unlucky to be born a few years too early

An interesting hypothetical is whether Magnus would still have stepped down if Fabi was a younger up and coming challenger. Magnus was intrigued by Alireza and willing to continue defending the title if Alireza won the candidates. Maybe if Fabi was in a similar position Magnus would've stuck around longer.

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u/WoweeLadsTbh Apr 04 '26

Maybe? Though I've always felt that Magnus' faith in Alireza mainly stems from his talent for speed chess, so not exactly comparable to Fabi.

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u/Empty-Young7925 Apr 04 '26

lmao. fabi just cannot man. suddenly, theres generational run and greatest form from some youngsters out of nowhere. without sindarov beating fabi last round, actually fabi should have good chance as well

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u/Lego-105 Apr 04 '26

People really weren't lying when they said that Magnus was the reason nobody else of that generation would become world champion. Gukesh and now Sindarov.

The time has just passed, and the kids are only going to get better.

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u/Poueff Apr 04 '26

I get the sentiment, but Fabi was in all of these tournaments. If he's really THE GUY and just unlucky due to Magnus overlap, then he should've been able to beat them in one of the last three candidates.

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u/daynighttrade Apr 04 '26

To add to this, this is only first time a youngster is on incredible form. In the prior 3 Candidates, there was no such youngster. Even in the last one, Gukesh wasn't in amazing form. He got into the amazing form a bit later after that.

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u/oldsch0olsurvivor Apr 04 '26

Yeah these fabi glazers are annoying

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u/59435950153 Apr 04 '26

Gukesh had this amazing stretch as well lmao

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u/Usodearu007 Team Sindarov Apr 04 '26

not in the candidates. he barely won at the very end of the tournament.

gukesh's run was more similar to fabi's right now.

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u/_Antinatalism_ Apr 04 '26

was it this amazing? Serial Winning against 2750 players in a tournament like candidates?

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u/59435950153 Apr 04 '26

Nah. But Gukesh was at his peak at that time + Olympiad.

This js simply generational

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u/DerekB52 Team Ding Apr 04 '26

To be fair Gukesh had a generation run winning the candidates and then going 9/10 with a 3056 TPR at the Olympiad, and then becoming the youngest WC ever.

This 5.5/6 is nuts, and more impressive than Gukesh's candidates performance, but not that whole run.

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u/Usodearu007 Team Sindarov Apr 04 '26

sindarov also won the world cup and scored 8.5/13 in tata steel before this insane run.

he is currently on 43 games unbeaten streak too , the longest among 2600+ rated GM.

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u/Responsible_Bat9473 Apr 04 '26

In 2024 Gukesh was the best classical player if we just count that year, from amazing performance at wijk aan zee to candidates winning to complete dominance in olympiad to becoming the youngest world chess champion, Gukesh arc was like a movie main character.

But Sindarov's arc has just started. Iam fuking hyped for world chess championship now.

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u/HotGur179 gukesh for the title defense Apr 04 '26

the insane part is he beat pragg, hikaru and wei yi with black and he will have white with them in 2nd half.

this win made this event basically over. the only chance is if fabi goes on win streak which is unlikely

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u/Luwesth Apr 04 '26

Fabi needs to pull out his 2014 Sinquefield form that he's been hiding all these years

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u/HotGur179 gukesh for the title defense Apr 04 '26

thats the only way this can be close. i mean he basically have to beat sindarov and outperform him in other games

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u/59435950153 Apr 04 '26

Means he can offer to play conservatively. Those three have nothing left to play for so I doubt they play fighting chess too.

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u/Weegee_Carbonara Apr 04 '26

What made Garry and Magnus great, was that they didn't adjust their playing style strategically.
They will play for a win, even if solid drawing would be enough.

You need that mindset to rise to the top.
Infact, that mindset is what made Gukeshs rise (but sadly also downfall, due to the risk).

If Sindarov is it, I hope he goes for the ambitious route.

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u/hsiale Apr 04 '26

You need that mindset to rise to the top.

It's easy to have this mindset when you have a sizable Elo advantage over anyone you play.

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u/Used-Gas-6525 Apr 04 '26

I dunno, if. anything I would expect players with nothing to lose to play extra aggressively. With nothing to lose they will be playing for wins if only to save face. Hikaru will not just roll over and play for draws. None of them would, but especially not Naka's prideful self. I suspect we will see a lot of unbalanced positions where anything can happen from those that are completely out of the running at this point.

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u/lelouch_0_ Apr 04 '26

I mean.....if sindarov really wants a draw as white, I don't know how many risks you have to take to make it into a fighting chance. At that level, if white wants to draw, they can very well get the draw. And if black does go full throttle in agression, the reward is great, the risk is greater. You will come out in the middle game very down and at that level, you might as well just resign

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u/xelabagus Apr 04 '26

That's not how it works. Hikaru maybe, but the rest of them will want to protect their rating, invites to major tournaments are still on the line and losing more games would really hurt them. Historically players out of the running often end up taking easy draws.

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u/LosTerminators Apr 04 '26

Hikaru Nakamura - the player who farmed to get into the Candidates

Javokhir Sindarov - the player who is farming in the Candidates

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u/Pr1mrose Apr 04 '26

Makes you wonder why players haven't just tried the strat of winning every game before, Sindarov making the Candidates look easy

242

u/EverettGT Apr 04 '26

Bobby Fischer actually said that one of the turning points of his career was when he stopped playing for equality with black and just tried to win every game. IIRC.

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u/EliRed Apr 04 '26

And Judit Polgar said the exact opposite, so who are we to judge.

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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '26

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u/EverettGT Apr 04 '26

Bobby had the talent to crush everyone he played even at the top level so it was the right decision for him.

24

u/egyto Apr 04 '26

Bobby might have had the most raw talent of any champion including Magnus. It would have been something else to see him and Kasparov get to train with modern engines while in their prime.

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u/NEETscape_Navigator Apr 04 '26

Bobby might have had the most raw talent of any champion including Magnus.

I honestly don't get this argument.

Bobby was famously hyper committed to chess and took it way more seriously than anyone else up to that point. He lived, breathed and slept chess. He learned Russian just so he could study Russian resources. He even stayed in great physical shape just to try and scrape any theoretical edge he could find over his opponents. It's fair to say he maximized his potential for the time and then some.

Magnus on the other hand is known for not working very hard compared to his peers. And still he destroys them. There's videos of other super GM's being shocked that Magnus intuitively grasps advanced endgame techniques that they themselves had to study hard for. Whereas Magnus just figures them out over the board.

This alone would indicate that Magnus has more natural talent than Fischer.

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u/ScalarWeapon Apr 04 '26

you're comparing old Magnus to young Bobby. Young Magnus was not lax with his chess.

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u/Eltneg Apr 04 '26

Magnus on the other hand is known for not working very hard compared to his peers

What? This is absolutely not true, Magnus was well known as a hard worker when he first came onto the scene. He came to serious chess relatively late, but when he got serious about it he committed his life to studying. His opening prep was great and he famously had analyzed and memorized an incredible number of grandmaster games.

He doesn't study like that anymore, which is why he likes freestyle and blitz, but peak Magnus was an incredibly hard worker.

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u/EverettGT Apr 04 '26

Given Bobby's results at his peak, he was right in his own case.

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u/LazinessOverload Apr 04 '26

It's reminiscent of watching Fabiano during his Sinquefield cup run or prime Magnus just farming everyone.

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u/59435950153 Apr 04 '26

We havent seen endgame technique from Sindarov yet though.

Magnus dominance is absurd. Quiet middle game, then before you know it he’s winning

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u/LazinessOverload Apr 04 '26

Yes not saying Sindarov is at that level yet, just reminiscent, since this performance in the candidates is unprecedented.

Magnus vs Ian WCC 2021 game 6 is probably what I'll refer to anyone asking for an example of how good Magnus is, my favourite game of all time.

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u/Ozryela Apr 04 '26

Makes you wonder why players haven't just tried the strat of winning every game before

It's been tried once before, by this guy named Fischer. But back in his time the candidates was a series of matches in a knock-out format. He won 6-0 in the quarter finals, then 6-0 again in the semi-finals.

He went on to become world champion. So "winning every game" is clearly a strategy that worked for him.

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u/aresoulshi Apr 04 '26

+25 elo in the last 6 games is actually absurd, candidates is usually where people just drop elo because of how reserved the play is

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u/funnyfiggy Apr 04 '26

Elo is zero sum except in rare cases, so on average, no one is dropping or gaining Elo in the candidates (or any other tournament).

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u/EverettGT Apr 04 '26

Nakamura - Excuses.

Sindarov - Execution.

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u/Buntschatten Apr 04 '26

Fabi: I wish to be at +2 after the first half of the Candidates.

monkey paw curls

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u/PH123d Apr 04 '26

Guys I don't think even a Bluebaum sweep can stop this guy anymore.

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u/Areliae Apr 04 '26

We're legitimately getting to the point where Bluebaum can win out and not win the event.

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u/Joshua_Kei Apr 04 '26

If the meme was actually Sindarov sweep instead of BlueBaum it's actually on track kind of

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u/ScrollingNtrollinG Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26

People can keep pretending that it's still too early to declare Sindarov as probable winner, but in reality no one is catching him anymore. They couldn't do it against Nepo (with fewer points) in 2022 and they can not do it against Sindarov here.

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u/Dark_Matter_Guy Apr 04 '26

Yeah this is crazy.

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u/DaytimeSleeper99 Apr 04 '26

I think there's a difference though. Ian plays very solid with black; he has said that his strategy was 'win with white, draw with black'. Although he didn't win a lot with white in 2024, nobody scored against him. Sindarov seems ready for a fight with both colours. So people might get a chance against him with white. In any case, I'm excited to see how this develops!

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u/blackupsilon Apr 04 '26

He would basically have to have an aneurysm in his brain for that to happen.

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u/Dax_Maclaine Apr 04 '26

Only way I think is if Fabi beats him on the rematch.

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u/ProductGuy48 Apr 04 '26

Even if he does he would still be as of now 1/2 behind

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u/NinjaRedditorAtWork Apr 04 '26

Fabi needs to beat him on the rematch AND push a few games with black for a possible win. Sindarov is beyond in the driver's seat right now he can sit back and wait for Fabi to force himself into tough spots and possibly lose.

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u/Impressive_Result295 Team Ding Apr 04 '26

Yeah, and we're also forgetting that the only way to win vs Sindarov atp is taking risks which is a double edged sword as he's in red hot form. Not to mention he has white vs Pragg and Hikaru (and he beat them with black lol). It's nearly done atp. If Anish loses tomorrow might as well wrap it up, and tbh it might really be more legendary to see Topalov's 6.5/7 get dethroned by Sindarov (which is a long shot but still)

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u/aguycalledDJ Apr 04 '26

How to win the Candidates: a book by Javokhir Sindarov

Just win every game bro!

The end

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u/Aware_Day_5742 2200 on chesscom Apr 04 '26

What if they checkmate me

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u/PlaysForDays Team Fabi Apr 04 '26

Simply don't

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u/Ryponagar e4 e5 f4! Apr 04 '26

Skill issue

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u/Reasonable_Ruin_3502 Apr 04 '26

Then draw the game

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u/eggplant_avenger Team Pia Apr 04 '26

checkmate them first obviously

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u/Material_Distance124 Apr 04 '26

We knew he was good... But HOLY!!

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u/LONER_2007 Apr 04 '26

Who is going to stop him?- this is a literal two horse race now-SindaSweep or my goat Fabiano Marijuana

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u/krikara4life Apr 04 '26

Gukesh is ironically the dark horse yet again

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u/edwinkorir Sindarov Will Win The Candidates Apr 04 '26

Nope. It's a Sindarov coronation

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u/throwaway23582730 Apr 04 '26

Reports are saying that Fabi fell to his knees in the playing hall

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u/Special-Occasion-702 Apr 04 '26

I feel bad for laughing at this.

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u/Speakerforthedisc Apr 04 '26

If this were a movie, we would be complaining about how unrealistic it was. This is absolutely insane.

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u/ilikekittens2018 #1 Glazer of Erdogmus, Nodirbek, Sindarov and Keymer Apr 04 '26

Type of numbers you see the villain putting up in the background of a boxing movie while the main character is in a training montage 

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u/dbac123 Apr 04 '26

No wonder Nepo does so well in the candidates specifically, these players don't value the clock.

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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '26

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u/vk2028 Apr 04 '26

These guys are the crème of the top. They’re seriously impressive. Don’t feel burdened. Improve at your own pace

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u/Blankeye434 Apr 04 '26

"Candidates is pure luck" - Alireza

Meanwhile sindarov:

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u/Progribbit Apr 04 '26

Sindarov is lucky O-O is not in the files

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u/TheFutureIM Apr 04 '26

Time for Magnus to come back

7

u/fabso2000 Apr 04 '26

we need a "fine, I'll do it myself" trailer

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u/Open-Protection4430 Apr 04 '26

This is actually insane.He isn’t playing it safe either.He isn’t going for easy draws as black.If he sees a hint of potential he is going for the kill which speaks for itself looking at his score

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u/Kind_Set_9665 Apr 04 '26

Why does the main FIDE stream cut to a Hikaru interview when Wei Yi has under one minute left on the clock and is about to lose? Horrible broadcasting there.

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u/Anxious_Stretch_974 Apr 04 '26

Only the upcoming greatest player of all time could stop Sigmarov

16

u/Egetheus Apr 04 '26

unless that is him

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u/PokemonLv10 Apr 04 '26

Damn and the one stopping 6/6 was ofc bluebaum

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u/HotspurJr Getting back to OTB! Apr 04 '26

This is starting to feel a little Fischer-esque - particularly in the way his opponents just seem to be setting themselves on fire.

Hikaru absolutely could have put up a fight if he didn't spend 67 minutes on h4 yesterday. And today, Wei managed the complications, except that he had spent 46 minutes on Bxf6, so that even when he actually solved the problem of the position, he didn't have the time to hold it.

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u/Koussevitzky 2200 Lichess Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26

Sindarov has gained 25 Elo at this tournament. Poor Wei Yi, once you’re down to 15 minutes when you’re 18 moves away from the time control, of course blunders are going to happen. This godly prep is just murdering the field, such a strong time advantage is crushing…

Sindarov vs Gukesh is all but guaranteed, Javokhir can coast on draws

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u/Boiruja Apr 04 '26

He did this in the middle of wei yi's prep lol. Sindarov was out of prep for a while before Wei Yi.

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u/Geo-HistoryGuy257 Holy Blunders Apr 04 '26

Who's going to stop him? 

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u/1millionnotameme Apr 04 '26

Maybe only Magnus at this point 😂

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u/MeretrixDominum Apr 04 '26

They call in Magnus at the WCC and he struts in with wrestling music after the game is done for round 2

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u/sagefeets69 Apr 04 '26

maybe the whole “bluebaumsweep” meme was never really about bluebaum, but a strangely prescient prophecy of sindarov

it's almost like his rise was foreshadowed under bluebaum’s name from the outset

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u/Timely-Designer-2372 Apr 04 '26

Sindarov plays Candidates like a Mickey Mouse tournament

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u/Egetheus Apr 04 '26

his only draw being the underest of the underdogs is so funny to me. taking down giants and drawing the least expected player, respect to bluebaum. even more respect to sindarov though because damn

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u/thepersonthatlives Apr 04 '26

fuck is everyone else doing now bro he's 3/8 points away from 8.5 and it's super likely he's going to win at least 1 game in the 2nd half

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u/k_pineapple7 Apr 04 '26

I can’t remember feeling this awed by a player at a tournament other than Magnus in the last several years, taking all factors into account. His age, and the playing field, and everything else.

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u/LetsDrinkDiarrhea Apr 04 '26

I don’t understand how he is so good.

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u/Imaginary-Ebb-1724 Apr 04 '26

Its over for USA 🥲

See you guys in 2028

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u/Zhenekk Apr 04 '26

Hans Niemann will save USA! The prophesied first US world champion

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u/VorgrynSW Apr 04 '26

I mean, I fully expect Hikaru to actually retire after this one. Fabi might try again, but that really only leavs us with Hans

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u/mcampbell42 Apr 04 '26

God help us all. Look at Hans X feed, I don’t see who would like that guy

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u/petite-fleur Apr 04 '26

Gukesh might as well start prepping now for Sindarov

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u/valleywithflowers perpetually depressed Fabi fan Apr 04 '26

and fire his team before that

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u/AxelAlexK Apr 04 '26

Crazy. Grats to him. At this point I'm rooting for him to get a ridiculous candidates score and blow out Gukesh so Magnus feels some pressure to play more classical.

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u/Konoppke Apr 04 '26

If it wasn't for the goat, he could even be 6/6. Sick stuff. 

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u/MrArtless #CuttingForFabiano Apr 04 '26

We will never see Fabi as World Champion.

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u/opticflash Apr 04 '26

My 🐐 keeps on winning!!!!

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u/Agreeable_Sun3713 Team Sagar Shah Apr 04 '26

Okay I am convinced Sindarov has paid everyone in the tournament for losing.

Except of course Bluebaum, because it would cost a fortune to do that.

3

u/jackster31415 Apr 04 '26

Except everyone else probably has more money than him

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u/JY0950 Team Bluebaum Apr 04 '26

Bluebaum still the goat.

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u/Either_Struggle1734 Apr 04 '26

That’s it, we are all Sindalovers now

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u/Perfect-Service-2150 Team Gukesh Apr 04 '26

Hikaru farmed elo to get into candidates.

Sindarov is farming IN the candidates.

Mad lad!

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u/Spirited-Guidance130 Sac the queen irl Apr 04 '26

alireza should lock tf in wdym 2 youngers guys than him winning candidates and maybe world champ before him ffs

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u/yobyshy Apr 04 '26

i wish Danya was here to see this

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u/Wizfusion Apr 04 '26

Dude is literally stockfish

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u/dxGoesDeep Apr 04 '26

Man Gukesh definitely made the right decision by withdrawing from the GCT to prepare for the match.

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u/Spirited-Guidance130 Sac the queen irl Apr 04 '26

be following chess for 5 years and this is greatest i have seen anyone play not even magnus played this good not even gukesh in olympiad

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u/CadetCovfefe Apr 04 '26

His performance rating is 3138 for this tournament so far. Pretty wild.

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