TASHKENT, April 15. /Dunyo IA/. Late in the evening of April 14^th, 20-year-old Uzbek chess player Javokhir Sindarov secured his place in the World Championship match by drawing with Grandmaster Anish Giri in the 13^th round of the 2026 Candidates Tournament, reports Dunyo IA correspondent.

Entering the decisive match of the Candidates Tournament with a must-win mindset to keep his chances of closing the gap alive, Grandmaster Anish Giri (playing with the white pieces) chose a somewhat risky tactic against the chess player from Uzbekistan.

The Dutch player played a nearly flawless game, with the computer evaluating his move accuracy at 99.2%. However, Javokhir demonstrated an even more incredible form, calmly executing every move with absolute precision - 99.5%.

The calmness and precision of Javokhir Sindarov neutralized all of his opponent’s efforts, ultimately forcing a draw.

With a total of 9.5 points after 13 rounds (6 wins and 7 draws), the Uzbek grandmaster has officially secured victory in the Candidates Tournament 2026 with one round to spare, guaranteeing himself the sole challenger’s spot for the World Championship title match against reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju.

It is noteworthy that on his path to the World Championship title match, the 20-year-old player repeatedly broke records previously associated with legendary figures such as Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand and Ian Nepomniachtchi.

By securing six victories, Javokhir Sindarov set a new historic benchmark, surpassing a record that had stood for 13 years since 2013, when the Candidates Tournament adopted its double round-robin format featuring eight players.