Sindarov wins Clutch Chess Champions Showdown in St Louis, weeks before Gukesh world title match
Javokhir Sindarov scored 12 points on the final day to overtake Praggnanandhaa and win Clutch Chess in St Louis, his last event before facing Gukesh in Geneva.
World Championship challenger Javokhir Sindarov has won the Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown in St Louis, producing a dominant final day to overtake India's Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu. The Uzbek grandmaster finished on 20.5 points, ahead of Praggnanandhaa (19), Fabiano Caruana (16.5) and Hikaru Nakamura (12), and collected US$168,000 in prize money and bonuses.
The rapid event, held at the Saint Louis Chess Club from 27 to 29 October (US time), was Sindarov's final tournament before he challenges Gukesh Dommaraju for the world title in Geneva later this month.
The format
Four of the world's best players met in three double round-robins at a 10-minute plus 5-second rapid time control, with a US$425,000 prize fund. The scoring rewarded winning: on the final day each win was worth three points and a draw one point, which pushed the players to keep games alive.
How Sindarov turned it around
Praggnanandhaa led after two days, 2.5 points clear of Sindarov and Caruana, who were tied for second. Sindarov then had the best day of the event on Thursday, winning three games and drawing three for 12 points. Praggnanandhaa and Caruana scored eight points each on the day, and Nakamura four.
Sindarov's highlight was a win with the black pieces over Nakamura in a King's Indian Defence, a game featuring a bishop sacrifice and later two exchange sacrifices. He described it as one of the best King's Indian games he had ever played, before drawing his final game against Nakamura.
Praggnanandhaa's near miss
The Indian came close to holding on. He pressed for a long time in a 100-move game against Caruana without converting the advantage, and in the final round he needed to beat Caruana with Black. Instead, a late middlegame error allowed Caruana to trap his queen, and the American won, settling the title in Sindarov's favour.
Next: Gukesh v Sindarov in Geneva
The FIDE World Championship match between defending champion Gukesh and Sindarov is scheduled from 24 November to 12 December 2026 at the Fondation Martin Bodmer in Cologny, Geneva, with the opening ceremony on 22 November. The match is over a maximum of 14 classical games, with rapid and blitz tiebreaks if it ends 7-7, and has a prize fund of US$2.5 million.
Sindarov arrives in good form, and he leads their past meetings. Across classical, rapid, blitz and exhibition games he has four wins to Gukesh's one, with two draws, including two wins and a draw in classical play. Geneva will be seven hours behind Malaysia during the match.
Key takeaways
- Javokhir Sindarov won Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown 2026 with 20.5 points.
- Praggnanandhaa (19) led after two days but finished second; Caruana (16.5) and Nakamura (12) followed.
- Sindarov scored 12 points on the final day, including a standout win over Nakamura.
- He earned US$168,000 in prize money and bonuses.
- His world title match against Gukesh starts on 24 November in Geneva.
FAQ
Who won Clutch Chess: Champions Showdown 2026? Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan, with 20.5 points, ahead of Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura.
When does the 2026 World Chess Championship start? Game one is scheduled for 24 November 2026 in Geneva, with the match running until 12 December at the latest.
What is Sindarov's record against Gukesh? Across all formats, Sindarov has four wins, Gukesh one, and two games were drawn.
Sources: Chess.com, ChessBase, Wikipedia