Javokhir Sindarov focuses on preparation over predictions ahead of Gukesh title clash

Bengaluru: Javokhir Sindarov says he is preparing for the strongest version of world champion Gukesh Dommaraju rather than reading into recent results as the Uzbek prodigy gears up for the youngest World Chess Championship match in history.

The 20-year-old secured a shot at the crown by winning this year's Candidates Tournament, adding to the World Cup title he captured earlier in the season and cementing his place among a new generation reshaping elite chess.

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Sindarov will face defending champion Gukesh, also 20, in Geneva, with the title to ‌be decided over ⁠14 classical ⁠games from November 24 to December 12.

Speaking ahead of the fourth season of the Global Chess League (GCL), where he will represent the FYERS American Gambits as the team's icon player, Sindarov said he expected an engrossing battle.

"Gukesh is very strong. I played with him a few ​times and I really feel he is a very strong chess player," Sindarov told Reuters over a video call.

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"I cannot say a lot of things before the match. I just want to play my good chess and enjoy it."

While much of ​the pre-match discussion has centred on Gukesh's uneven results since lifting the ⁠world title in ‌Singapore in 2024, Sindarov said recent form offered little indication of how the championship would ​unfold.

"I didn't take ​what he played in the last tournaments seriously because during a match he can be completely ⁠different. I'm trying to prepare for his best chess form," Sindarov said.

While ​several leading players, including Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana, have weighed in ​on the contest, Sindarov said outside opinions would not shape his preparation.

The challenger pointed to Gukesh's victory over Ding Liren in 2024 in Singapore as a reminder that expectations and rankings can quickly become irrelevant once a world championship begins.

"People said Ding would lose very easily, but during the match we saw how well he played and how close it was," Sindarov said.

Sindarov's successful season

Sindarov will enter the match after arguably the strongest season of his career. He won the ‌Candidates with a round to spare, stringing together four consecutive victories against elite opposition in one of the most dominant performances in recent memory.

His preparations for Geneva are being overseen by coach ​Roman Vidonyak, with Sindarov ​determined not to overhaul a ⁠formula that has already delivered major success.

"We will not change a lot of things because what we did worked in our last tournaments," he said.

"We will just improve what we did before the Candidates and the World Cup."

The Uzbek has not been immune to setbacks, though. At the Sinquefield Cup in August, he suffered a defeat by another Indian grandmaster, R. Praggnanandhaa, one of only two losses he has recorded this year.

Sindarov acknowledged Praggnanandhaa has often posed unique challenges throughout their careers but stopped short of reading anything into suggestions that the Indian could help Gukesh prepare for the title match.

"I think Gukesh doesn't need his advice because both of us understand where we have weaknesses and where we are not strong," he said.