Bengaluru: Four rounds into the Candidates tournament, 20-year-old Javokhir Sindarov has taken the sole lead, a full point ahead of the rest of the field.
Sindarov crushed world No 3 Fabiano Caruana with the Black pieces, out-preparing and out-playing him, which isn't easy. He now has three wins from four rounds.
Praggnanandhaa drew against Matthias Bluebaum, who is now at two points, just like Praggnanandhaa. Sindarov has shown great tenacity, consistency, and preparation and is easily the most impressive player of the tournament so far.
For 33-year-old Caruana, now playing his sixth Candidates and almost synonymous with the tournament itself, this is a World Championship shot he cannot afford to squander. He won the Candidates eight years ago and went on to face Magnus Carlsen in the title match.
However, the landscape of chess is vastly different today. Carlsen has stepped away from the World Championship cycle, and a wave of young firebrand players has arrived on the scene, unleashing fearless, disruptive chess. One among those young, ambitious players is Sindarov.
