Grand Chess Tour Super Rapid 2026: Gukesh lands the first blow to Sindarov

By admin May 7, 2026 0 comments

World Champion D Gukesh defeated the Challenger to his Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) in Round 5 of Grand Chess Tour Super Rapid 2026. It was their first encounter since Sindarov won the FIDE Candidates 2026 and became the contender.

So and Niemann lead, Sindarov loses three in-a-row

Gukesh started the day with a loss against Radoslaw Wojtaszek, then he defeated Javokhir Sindarov, before finishing the day with a quick draw against Wesley So. Sindarov lost all three games on the second day. Currently, Wesley So and Hans Niemann are the coleaders at 9/12 each. They are closely followed by Vladimir Fedoseev at 8/12. Fabiano Caruana, Gukesh and Jan-Krzysztof Duda are at 6/12 each.

Round 4: Gukesh – Wojtaszek: 0-2

The World Champion, D Gukesh (2682) faced one of his seconds, Radoslaw Wojtaszek (POL, 2612) for the first time in a rated game. The strong Pole outplayed Gukesh.

World Champion D Gukesh got outplayed by Radoslaw Wojtaszek (POL) | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Round 4 in progress | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Round 5: Sindarov – Gukesh: 0-2

Both, the World Championship Challenger – Javokhir Sindarov (UZB, 2727) and the World Champion – D Gukesh (2682) were coming into this game with a loss in the previous round. This was their first Rapid rated game against each other. It would be an understatement to say that this was a highly anticipated battle between them since Sindarov won the Candidates and became a contender for Gukesh’s throne.

Position after 24…Qd4

Sindarov made an ambitious sacrifice 25.Nxe4 fxe4 26.f5 Bc8 27.Rcd1 Qf6 28.Qxe4 Rd8 29.Rxd8+ Nxd8 30.Qe8+ Kg7 31.Rf4 h5 32.Qe2 Bd7 33.Qxh5 Nc6 Gukesh managed to weather the storm and eventually win the game.

Gukesh strikes first against Sindarov | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club

Gukesh rarely shows any emotion after a win but this definitely meant a lot | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz / Grand Chess Tour

Interview with D Gukesh | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club

Hans – Caruana: 2-0

What makes Hans Niemann special? If you did not know, his win against Fabiano Caruana should give you an answer. His willingness to win despite having an adverse situation.

Position after 43.Ka4

What is White doing by moving his king to a4? No, White is not out of his mind. One does not need a computer to evaluate that White is in trouble. To overcome a bad position, White is finding a way to create his chances, hence 43.Ka4. What followed next is Hans’ resourcefulness and Black’s lack of playing on his advantage, resulting in his loss.

Interview with Hans Niemann | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club

There is a reason fans love Hans Niemann and it’s not because he just talks a big game, he can win a big game | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

What Did Javokhir Do Between the Candidates & Grand Chess Tour? | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club

Replay live stream

Replay Super Rapid 2026 Round 4-6 live commentary by GMs Yasser Seirawan, Maurice Ashley, & Cristian Chirila, IMs Nazi Paikidze & Irene Sukandar, and WGM Anastasiya Karlovich | Video: Saint Louis Chess Club

Replay Round 4-6 games

Schedule and Format

Superbet Rapid and Blitz will have three rounds per day in the Rapid portion from 5th to 7th May. The Blitz event will take place on 8th and 9th May. It will be a double round-robin event for the Blitz which means nine rounds will be played on each day. Round 1 starts at 2 p.m. local time, 5:30 p.m. IST. It will be a 10-player Round Robin event. Time control for Rapid will be 25 minutes + 10 seconds increment. For Blitz it is, 5 minutes + 2 seconds increment.