Candidates Tournament first round ends with Sindarov, Muzychuk in the lead

By Andrey Avsitidiysky

Sindarov – Candidates – 5–0

April 5, 2026 saw the conclusion of the first round at the World Chess Championship Candidates Tournament, being held at the Cap St Georges Hotel on the west coast of Cyprus. Star of the competition is 20-year-old Javokhir Sindarov, who has won five of his seven matches. Meanwhile, in the women’s section, 36-year-old Anna Muzychuk, added to the line-up a week before the start, is leading the field.

Six points out of a possible seven after the first round is the best result in the Candidates Tournaments since 2013, when the International Chess Federation (FIDE) switched to a new system featuring a round-robin tournament with eight grandmasters. Ian Nepomniachtchi had five and a half points after seven rounds in 2021, whilst Magnus Carlsen in 2013 and Fabiano Caruana in 2018 had five each.

The only players to have outperformed Javokhir Sindarov were the 11th World Champion Robert Fischer, who defeated Mark Taimanov and Bent Larsen 6–0 in the Candidates’ matches, and Veselin Topalov, who scored six and a half points out of seven in the first round of the 2005 FIDE World Championship in San Luis, Argentina. In the second round, Topalov drew seven times. This proved more than enough for first place.

Each of Sindarov’s five victories is convincing and well-deserved. Overall, his run is having a stunning effect. It is as if almost every time Messi struck the ball, it resulted in a goal. Sindarov plays quickly and confidently. Sindarov spent a significant portion of his game against Hikaru Nakamura – who spent 67 minutes pondering his 13th move – in the rest room. He yawned, stretched and tried not to fall asleep.

On the opening day of the tournament, Anna Muzychuk told me what she remembers about the 1992 European Football Championship. The Danish team, included at the last minute, beat Germany 2-0 in the final. The former world rapid and blitz champion admitted that she hadn’t had time to prepare for every opponent in the week leading up to the event. However, they, too, were unprepared for their matches against Muzychuk. She won twice and didn’t lose a single match.

Interesting facts

• Sindarov stated that he might be playing the best tournament of his life. He used the word ‘might’ because he is young and has his whole career ahead of him.
• After his defeat by Sindarov, the tournament’s top-ranked favourite Nakamura was forced to admit that he had come to Cyprus on holiday.
• The seventh-round game between Divya Deshmukh and Kateryna Lagno lasted 135 moves. It was the last game before the weekend.

On April 5, 2026, former world champion Viswanathan Anand held a training session with the Cyprus national team. Seven-time national champion Konstantinos Michaelides, the champions of the last two years, Alexandros Isaakidis and Rafail Antoniou, as well as Konstantinos Konstantinidis, Savvas Konstantinides and Samuel Johannes Constantinou, were briefed by the First Vice-President of FIDE on elements of strategy, psychology and how to approach decisive moments in the game.

Men’s and Women’s Candidates Tournaments

Cap St Georges Hotel near Paphos

March 28, 2026 to April 16, 2026

• The competition, with a prize fund of one million euros, is held with the financial support of Freedom Holding and the Sheinberg family.
• The fan zone hosts masterclasses, lectures, simultaneous exhibitions and discussions featuring world chess stars.
• Chess enthusiasts have the opportunity to interact with tournament participants during Q&A sessions, autograph sessions and photo opportunities.
• Grandmasters Peter Svidler and Jan Gustafsson are providing live commentary on the games on the FIDE YouTube channel.