GMJavokhir Sindarov

Javokhir Sindarov grew up in Tashkent, where his grandfather Komil taught him chess at four and a half. His father worked in business and his mother taught school. His younger brother Islombek also became a competitive chess player. Sindarov won an Asian Schools under-seven title in 2012. He completed the grandmaster requirements in October 2018, aged twelve; FIDE's title history records the GM title in 2019. He helped Uzbekistan win its first open Olympiad gold medal in Chennai in 2022. Two Asian Games bronze medals followed in 2023. In 2025 he began working with coach Roman Vidonyak and won the TePe Sigeman tournament. Later that year he defeated Wei Yi in the World Cup final in Goa. At nineteen he became the tournament's youngest winner and the first from Uzbekistan. The victory qualified him for the 2026 Candidates Tournament. He won that event unbeaten with ten points from fourteen games, securing first place with a round to spare. The result earned him a world-championship match against Gukesh Dommaraju. Outside chess, he enjoys football and supports Barcelona.