Gukesh or Sindarov? Praggnanandhaa refuses to name outright favourite for World Championship: 'No one knows...'

The World Championship face-off between current champion D Gukesh and and challenger Javokhir Sindarov has been among the biggest talking points ever since the latter won the Fide Candidates in dominant fashion in Cyprus last month. And being the biggest talking point, it is only natural for the chess community to make predictions regarding their highly-anticipated showdown later this year.

Sindarov's red-hot form in recent months coupled with Gukesh's struggles for nearly a year has made the former the favourite for now. However, it wasn't too long ago when it was the Indian Grandmaster who was in unstoppable form and was bulldozing his way through tournaments.

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Gukesh's compatriot R Praggnanandhaa, who had a relatively underwhelming run at the Candidates where he suffered back-to-back losses against Sindarov, was asked the same question recently on the sidelines of the ongoing Grand Chess Tour.

Pragg refuses to pick an outright favourite for world championship

The former Indian No 1, however, refused to pick an outright favourite right away, stating that the World Championship is a long way off and a lot can happen in the intervening months.

"It’s six months away, and no one knows what form they will go on. I think it’s just 50-50. I don’t think anyone is a favourite. It’s just who plays the best in the World Championship will take it," Praggnanandhaa told ChessBase India on the sidelines of the ongoing Super Chess Classic Romania, where he's the defending champion.

Gukesh and Sindarov, meanwhile, had faced each other thrice in Warsaw during Super Rapid and Blitz Poland, the opening event of the 2026 Grand Chess Tour. While Gukesh defeated Sindarov in the Rapid leg of the tournament, the Uzbekistani GM bounced back in the Blitz leg, beating the reigning Classical world champion twice in as many meetings.

Sindarov then lost to 'Pragg' in the second round of Super Chess Classic in Bucharest, suffering his first defeeat in the Classical format since the Fide Grand Swiss, which had taken place on home turf back in September.