Bengaluru: R Praggnanandhaa took down World Championship challenger Javokhir Sindarov in the second round of the Sinquefield Cup on Tuesday. In a game that lasted six hours and 95 moves, Pragg, playing White, kept up the pressure, before Sindarov blundered on move 82 and Pragg didn’t let the opportunity slip.
The 21-year-old Indian grandmaster, who won Norway Chess in June and the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz last week, appears to be in fine form with titles across formats.
Praggnanandhaa and Sindarov have been duelling since their junior years, with their rivalry gaining a fresh dimension at the Candidates tournament earlier this year. Praggnanandhaa lost both his games against the Uzbek GM at the Candidates, which Sindarov later described as a crucial turning point that saw him race away with the tournament and become the World Championship challenger. Sindarov will face reigning world champion Gukesh in the title match in November.
The Sinquefield Cup win is Praggnanandhaa’s second victory over Sindarov since the Candidates. He had earlier defeated him at the 2026 Super Chess Classic Romania, ending Sindarov’s 53-game unbeaten streak.
“We barely have draws. Javokhir is someone who pushes to the end and I enjoy going for it as well,” Praggnanandhaa said after his win on Tuesday.
The game began with a Queen’s Gambit Declined setup, and Sindarov defended the pawn-down endgame well. For a while, it seemed the game might end in a draw after all. He eventually cracked with 82. Ne3?, a blunder that Pragg immediately capitalised on. The Indian made no mistake in finding the path to victory, manoeuvring his knight, pushing his a- and b-pawns forward and threatening to win Black’s pawn with his rook. Pragg put the finishing touches to the win with 94. a7!, the only move in the position.
With the win, Pragg joined the leaders’ pack of the 10-player tournament with 1.5 points out of two.
