Zhavokhir Sindarov finished second in rapid at the tournament in St. Louis.
Uzbek grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov took second place in the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz 2026, finishing nine games unbeaten.
Javokhir Sindarov Takes Second Place in the Saint Louis Rapid Tournament
Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) —
Uzbek grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov took second place in the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz 2026 rapid tournament, the final stage of the Grand Chess Tour rapid and blitz chess series.
After nine rounds, the Uzbek representative scored 11 points, just one behind the rapid winner, Indian grandmaster Rameshbabu Pragnanandhaa. American Wesley So took third place with 10 points.
In the rapid tournament, two points were awarded for a win and one for a draw. Sindarov won two games and drew seven, finishing the tournament undefeated.
On the first day of play, the Uzbek player tied with Anish Giri and Vincent Keymer, then defeated Jorden van Foreest. After three rounds, he had four points out of a possible six and was tied for second place with Wesley So, one point behind Pragnanandhaa.
On the second day, Sindarov drew with Pragnanandhaa, Levon Aronian, and Fabiano Caruana. Against the tournament leader, the Uzbek player managed to salvage an extremely difficult position, and against Aronian, he was close to victory, but the opponents ended the game in a repetition of moves. After six rounds, Sindarov had seven points, allowing him to retain second place.
On the final day of the Rapid, Sindarov drew with Giri again, then defeated American grandmaster Awonder Liang, consistently converting his positional advantage, and finished the tournament with a draw against Keymer.
Despite Pragnanandhaa's loss to van Foreest in the final round, the Indian chess player retained the lead with 12 points. Sindarov finished the Rapid in second place with 11 points, while Wesley So finished third with 10 points.
After the Rapid, the tournament will continue with the Blitz competition. Players will play 18 round-robin games over two rounds. A win in the Blitz will be worth one point, and a draw will be worth half a point.
The Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament runs from August 2nd to 6th, featuring ten grandmasters. The total prize fund is $200,000, with the winner receiving $50,000.