Javohir Sindarov Unbeaten at Grand Chess Tour Stage in Poland

Uzbek chess player Javohir Sindarov scored 4 points from 6 opportunities on the first day of the Grand Chess Tour stage in Warsaw, Poland, which took place on May 5. In the rapid chess section, Sindarov drew with Hans Niemann (USA) and Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland) and defeated Radoslaw Wojtaszek (Poland) in the initial three rounds.

After the first day, he is among the leaders along with Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Vladimir Fedoseev, and Hans Niemann, all of whom have 4 points. Sindarov and Niemann are the only participants who have not suffered a defeat in the initial three pairs.

Current world champion Dommaraju Gukesh scored 50% of points after the first day. In the second round, he missed an opportunity against Niemann due to an endgame mistake: the black pawn played a decisive role, and Gukesh soon admitted defeat.

On May 6, three more pairs will be held in the rapid chess section in Warsaw. Sindarov will face Wesley So, Dommaraju Gukesh, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.

On May 7, the final three pairs of this format will take place. On May 8-9, the participants will compete in the blitz tournament. The winner of the stage will be determined by the total number of points scored in both sections.

In the rapid chess section, 2 points are awarded for a win and 1 point for a draw. In the blitz section, the standard system applies: 1 point for a win and 0.5 points for a draw.

The stage in Poland opens the Grand Chess Tour 2026 series. The tournament features Dommaraju Gukesh, Javohir Sindarov, Fabiano Caruana, Alireza Firouzja, Hans Niemann, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Wesley So, Vladimir Fedoseev, and Radoslaw Wojtaszek.

Note that the Super Rapid & Blitz Poland will take place from May 5 to 10 and will open the new Grand Chess Tour season. The series will continue with a classical tournament in Bucharest (Romania), rapid chess stages in Zagreb (Croatia) and St. Louis (USA), and a final in the USA.