Fabiano Caruana reacts to Gukesh’s emotional celebration against Sindarov: 'These games are not going to count'

Italian-American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana has reacted to Gukesh Dommaraju’s emotional celebration after his rapid win over Javokhir Sindarov at the Grand Chess Tour: Super Rapid and Blitz Poland 2026 in Warsaw.

Gukesh, who has struggled with form in recent months, showed rare emotions after defeating Sindarov in the rapid section of the mini-match between World Championship finalists. The reigning world champion celebrated with a fist pump after the victory, something fans do not often see from the calm Indian teenager.

Speaking about the moment, Caruana said both players are already mentally preparing for their upcoming World Chess Championship clash, but added that these rapid and blitz games will not matter much once the actual title match begins.

“I mean, Gukesh did a little celebration after he won the Rapid game. I understand that they are already in the mode, thinking about the match and their rivalry... but these few Rapid and Blitz games are not going to count once it comes to the match,” Caruana told ChessBase India.

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Gukesh vs Sindarov

While Gukesh won the one-off rapid encounter, Sindarov responded strongly by winning both blitz games on consecutive days. The battle added more excitement to what is already becoming one of the biggest rivalries in modern chess, with both players set to feature in the youngest World Championship clash.

Last month, Sindarov won the FIDE Candidates 2026 tournament to earn the right to challenge Gukesh for the World Chess Championship title. The highly-awaited match is expected to take place in November and December and could last for nearly 25 days. To finalise the host city, FIDE has already launched the bidding process.