Why Javokhir Sindarov vs Praggnanandhaa is the rivalry that defines this era just as much as Gukesh vs Nodirbek

Sindarov had gone on to predict a couple of “very interesting matches” against Pragg at the Candidates in Cyprus. The Uzbek prodigy has more than delivered on that prophecy, beating the Indian twice in their two head-to-head battles at this edition of the Candidates tournament.

A defeat for Pragg more or less confirms that the Indian cannot win the tournament any more since he is now four points behind the Uzbek prodigy with four rounds to go. With eight points, Sindarov now leads the event with a two-point gap over Anish Giri. The win over Pragg also handed the Uzbek grandmaster the record for the most victories at the Candidates in the current format of the tournament — and that too with four rounds to spare.

R Praggnanandhaa and Javokhir Sindarov in action. (FILE photo)

Pragg had come into the tournament with an imposing head-to-head record against Sindarov in classical chess. That record has been upended by the Uzbek in Cyprus after winning both games against the Indian. The rivalry between the two mirrors the one between world champion Gukesh and Uzbekistan’s top grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

The latest installment of Pragg vs Sindarov shifted on move 22 when Pragg played bishop to d7 — a move the engine flagged as a blunder. At that stage, the Indian had an extra bishop on the board as opposed to Sindarov’s two additional pawns. Two moves later, Sindarov sacrificed his queen to pick off both of Praggnanandhaa’s rooks. This material imbalance — Pragg’s two rooks against Sindarov’s queen — stayed the same till the game ended on the 53rd move.

Sindarov has seemed content to play out draws in the second half of the tournament, a trait highlighted by his decision not to go for the kill in the 9th round against Matthias Bluebaum. But against Pragg, he opted to chase victory — and it arrived.

“Pragg’s score at the tournament has been very poor reward for his play. His play has been quite good. He’s come up with some good ideas, but essentially he’s lost three games since that first victory,” said five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand in the FIDE commentary.

R Praggnanandhaa in action. (FILE photo)

In a chat with The Indian Express during the World Cup in Goa last year, Sindarov had pointed out how his CV would have looked a lot different without Pragg.

“He beat me in a lot of age group tournaments. If he wasn’t around at that stage, I would have won a minimum of two cadets tournaments,” Sindarov had chuckled goodnaturedly.

As Sindarov recollected, back in 2013, he was on a hot streak, going six out of six at a cadets championship. So was Praggnanandhaa. Then Pragg beat Sindarov — and it started a run of losses for the Uzbek.

Now 13 years later, at the Candidates, the defeat to Sindarov in round 3 was the start of Pragg’s event coming unstuck. The latest chapter of the Pragg-Sindarov rivalry may have favoured the boy from Uzbekistan, but both 20-year-olds have many more battles left on the board.

Amit Kamath is Assistant Editor at The Indian Express and is based in Mumbai. He primarily writes on chess and Olympic sports, and co-hosts the Game Time podcast, a weekly offering from Express Sports. He also writes a weekly chess column, On The Moves. ... Read More

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