Javokhir Sindarov, a 19-year-old from Uzbekistan, has made history by becoming the youngest champion of the chess World Cup. He secured the title by defeating China's top player, Wei Yi, in a dramatic tie-break series on 26/11 in Goa, India. Sindarov, at 19 years, 11 months, and 18 days old, significantly broke the previous record set by Levon Aronian in 2005, who won at 23 years, two months, and 10 days.

Wei Yi entered the final with an impressive 24-game unbeaten streak. The two players drew both standard games and the first tie-break. The second tie-break proved decisive and dramatic. Playing white, Wei Yi held a slight advantage in the middlegame, but repeatedly faced severe time trouble, often letting his clock tick down to one second before moving. This pressure led to two critical errors.

Javokhir Sindarov (left) during the tie-break against Wei Yi in the chess World Cup final in Goa, India on 26/11/2025. *FIDE*

One pivotal mistake involved Wei Yi's rook capturing a "poisoned" pawn. This left his rook undefended, allowing Sindarov to use his queen and rook for a series of checks, ultimately capturing the white rook. After 60 moves, the 26-year-old Wei Yi stopped his clock and resigned, handing Sindarov the historic victory.

Despite the loss, which was Wei Yi's first after a 27-game unbeaten streak in the tournament, he will join Sindarov and third-place finisher Andrey Esipenko in the prestigious Candidates 2026 tournament. They will compete against players who had already secured their spots: Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri, and Matthias Bluebaum. Hikaru Nakamura and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa are also expected to claim the remaining two positions.

Born on 8/12/2005, in Tashkent, Sindarov was once the second youngest player in history to achieve Grandmaster status, at 12 years, 10 months, and 8 days, trailing only Sergey Karjakin (12 years, 7 months). His World Cup victory secured him USD 120,000, while Wei Yi received USD 85,000, and Esipenko earned USD 60,000. Nodirbek Yakubboev, another Uzbek, reached the World Cup semifinals but did not qualify for the Candidates, finishing 4th and receiving USD 50,000.

The Candidates 2026 tournament is scheduled from 28/3 to 16/4 in Cyprus. Eight players will compete in a double round-robin format to determine the challenger for 19-year-old World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju.

Xuan Binh