2026 – Javokhir Sindarov
age
17
residence
Javokhir
Javokhir Sindarov is a rapidly rising star in the chess world who, despite being only 20 years old, has several significant accomplishments to his name. These include being a member of Uzbekistan’s gold medal winning team in the 2022 Chess Olympiad and bronze medal winning team in the 2024 Chess Olympiad.
Javokhir qualified for the 2026 Candidates tournament by finishing first in the FIDE World Cup last year, becoming the youngest player ever to win the event. He accomplished this despite being the sixteenth seed.
Sindarov turned in an outstanding performance at the 2026 Tata Steel tournament finishing with 8.5 points from 13, second only to countryman Nodirbek Abdusattorov. This result raised his current rating to just outside the top ten players in the world.
Javokhir Sindarov is an Uzbek chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, he became a grandmaster at the age of 12 years, 10 months, and 8 days. He is a two-time national champion, and was part of the Uzbek team that won the 44th Chess Olympiad. He won the 2025 Chess World Cup and qualified to the 2026 Candidates Tournament. His second is Mukhiddin Madaminov.