Javokhir Sindarov moves closer to Grand Chess Tour Final after finishing second in St. Louis

Uzbekistan's grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov has moved closer to securing a spot in the Grand Chess Tour Final after finishing second overall at the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz. The tournament, held from August 2-6, is the fourth event of the 2026 Grand Chess Tour and featured a $200,000 prize fund.

Sindarov achieved his runner-up position by placing second in both the rapid and blitz segments of the competition. In the rapid games, which awarded two points for a win and one for a draw, he scored 11 points after nine rounds, trailing India's Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, who led with 12 points. Sindarov's rapid performance rating was 2739, slightly above his pre-tournament rating.

Entering the blitz portion, Sindarov was just one point behind the leader. He scored 5.5 out of 9 points in the first nine blitz rounds, maintaining his second-place standing. During this phase, he achieved a notable streak by defeating Fabiano Caruana, Awonder Liang, and Leinier Domínguez consecutively. A crucial game against Praggnanandhaa ended in a draw, despite Sindarov having a pawn advantage, which prevented him from closing the gap further.

On the second day of blitz, Sindarov again scored 5.5 points. He secured wins against Jorden van Foreest and Vincent Keymer, and later defeated Anish Giri. At one point, he narrowed the gap to the tournament leader to just half a point. The decisive moment came in the penultimate round when Sindarov faced Praggnanandhaa. Despite being a pawn up, Sindarov could not convert the advantage, resulting in a draw that secured the tournament victory for Praggnanandhaa with one round remaining.

Overall, Praggnanandhaa won the tournament with 23.5 points, followed by Sindarov with 22 points, and Wesley So in third with 20.5 points. Sindarov recorded five wins, two losses, and 11 draws in the blitz games, gaining nine rating points and achieving a performance rating of 2749.

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I saw I’m winning [with] any move