Javokhir Sindarov didn’t just win the 2026 Candidates Tournament in Cyprus; he dominated. Six wins, zero losses, and a 1.5 point lead over the field. As I was doing game recaps after each round, I started noticing two key themes. He used the clock as a weapon, and he went for complex positions where his opponents’ kings were vulnerable. The combination of the two factors led to most of his victories.
Let’s walk through all six wins to see it in action.
Round 1 vs. Esipenko (White)
This one breaks the mold a bit. Sindarov was down to six minutes compared to Esipenko’s 30 minutes on move 27. You can notice that the king on g2 sits slightly safer than the king on g8, thanks to the extra f2 pawn and other pieces in the area.
Esipenko played very aggressively with queenside play and an exchange sacrifice. Sindarov played it cool and kept up pressure on the kingside as the clocks got extremely low. A few moves later (move 34), we reach the following position, completely winning for Sindarov. Notice how low the clocks got and how the king safety was a factor.
Round 3 vs. Praggnanandhaa (Black)
If you thought round 1 was a bit of a fluke, round 3 started to show the strategy in full force. On move 15, Prag was down 10 minutes on the clock with his king sitting on d1. Look at how safely Sindarov’s king is tucked away on g8.
Just a few moves later we reach a time scramble, with a time edge for Sindarov. Prag’s king is now on a2 with no pawns at all on the queenside. Black has two rooks and two bishops putting heat on the white king position. The black king could not be much safer! This position is already winning on move 34.
Round 4 vs. Caruana (White)
Sindarov was never worse in round 4 against the tournament co-leader, Fabiano Caruana. Caruana did something interesting, and I think it was a good strategy to try to throw off Sindarov’s dominance. Caruana accepted doubled f-pawns to put pressure down the g-file. The problem for Fabiano in this game is that he was down an hour on the clock by move 16.
By move 31, Fabi had 2 minutes to Sindarov’s 45, Fabi’s king position was in shambles, Sindarov’s king was sitting safely on g1, and the position was winning for Sindarov. This was the game that really shocked the world. How can Sindarov win this game so easily??? King Safety and Time Management.
Round 5 vs. Nakamura (Black)
Nakamura tried to employ a similar strategy, but even more extreme, as Caruana did. Nakamura chose the Marshall Gambit. An extremely sharp line that tries to attack Sindarov’s king. But time management became a crucial factor. Nakamura went into a deep think and was down an hour on the clock early!
Nakamura tried to put pressure on Sindarov’s king, but the attack was easily thwarted, and Sindarov went on to convert a smooth endgame.
Round 6 vs. Wei Yi (Black)
He can’t do it again can he? Winning five of the first six games? Yes, he did. By move 20 we see pressure against Wei Yi’s king and a 50-minute time advantage! You can’t leave only 17 minutes to play the next 20 moves. Even though Sindarov’s king is on e8, it appears safer than White’s king.
A few moves later, Sindarov goes on to convert in the endgame, just like the Nakamura game.
Round 10 vs. Praggnanandhaa (White)
How about another attempt by Prag? Well he left his king on f8, without a chance to castle. He’s up a bishop for a couple of pawns, but went into some deep thinks. Before you know it, Sindarov was in a technical win, queen against two rooks. The Black king’s vulnerability was the key factor.
The position on move 25 highlights this nicely. The black king is naked without much hope for survival.
The Pattern
Taking a big picture look at the pattern in these games is clear. In Sindarov’s wins, his opponents were getting into notable time pressure during critical moments of the game. In most of these games the opponent was castling into danger or king walking with no pawns for protection.
Try to implement these ideas into your own games. King safety and time management. Good luck!
Great analysis. Not too complicated and at the same time you pointed out the main points in easy to understand concepts.
Keep it up.
Thank you Guillermo!
Yeah it’s so weird. I know hikaru commented on it that everyone was trying to make something happen, but it seemed like sindarov was getting away with murder. Hikaru’s 78m for move 13 of their game is still hilarious. -guitarizt / Tony
That was such a long think!!
Nice observation Matt and a very good one! I went back and reviewed all the Sindarov games from the Candidates2026 and it looks like only Bluebaum had safe King positions against Sindarov. I believe everyone seems to have over tried (over-exerted) to get an advantage against Sindarov!
In the upcoming WCH match between Gukesh and Sindarov, I give each player 50% chance of winning since both are similar age, highly-driven, hungry for success and are skilled. The one with a stronger mental fortitude during the two weeks should prevail. I am sure Chess fans will witness closely fought battle on the Chess board with lot of “newness”; it won’t be dull or boring draws for sure!!
I’m looking forward to the Championship. 50/50 seems pretty reasonable to me, even though a lot of people will be picking Sindarov.
I don’t think anyone will disagree that king safety and good time management are desirable. The real question is why Sindarov was able to put these into practice and his opponents weren’t. It seems to me that, at least for the 2 weeks or so of the tournament, Sindarov was the most capable player: superior opening preparation, great confidence, great calculation. He’s obviously extremely talented, but maybe he and his coach with their multiple training camps found the optimal way to prepare for this kind of tournament.
Of the three factors mentioned, I can’t help thinking that the first was the key to all three. He didn’t seem to be surprised by very much, whereas his opponents were often nonplussed by his moves and had to go into long thinks.
Of the very long thinks in the tournament, I’m wondering: Were there any that turned out to be justified, i.e. the player calculated and recalculated all the key possibilities, came to the right conclusion, and then won/saved the game?
That’s an interesting question. Someone should create a time management metric. Is the time spent beneficial or not?