Magnus Carlsen sends warning to Fide Candidates leader Sindarov: ‘Hard to be in his position'

Chess star Magnus Carlsen has sent a stern warning to Javokhir Sindarov, who leads the Fide Candidates 2026 at the halfway stage with an incredible 6 points out of a possible seven. The five-time world champion Carlsen said that while the Uzbek Grandmaster Sindarov has been the most impressive participant, how he handles the nerves in the final part of the tournament will decide the outcome.

The Fide World Cup 2025 winner, Sindarov, has defied all the odds to lead the standings at Candidates 2026 after seven rounds. He has secured five wins and two draws so far, leading the point table ahead of early favourite Fabiano Caruana.

World No 2 Hikaru Nakamura, who was the highest-rated player going into the tournament, has had a disastrous tournament so far, failing to win a single game.

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Carlsen warns Sindarov as Round 8 starts at Candidates

While speaking to the media at the Grenke Chess Festival 2026, Carlsen, who relinquished his world title in 2022, praised Sindarov for his blistering runs in Cyprus as he called Hikaru's performance a "surprise."

"I think it was impossible to predict that he was one of the main candidates to do well. I think the fact that Fabio has performed well didn't surprise anybody. Then, of course, Hikaru performing this badly was probably a surprise. But yeah, I think he had a very shaky game in game one. But after that, Sindarov has been more or less flawless," Carlsen said.

Magnus added that the 20-year-old Sindarov's impressive performances have also caught the attention of his wife, Ella Victoria Malone.

"And Sindarov is very, very fundamentally sound. I think you can play any type of position and he's just very, very talented. And yeah, actually my wife asked me the other day, like, what's going on with Sindarov's performance and like, have you ever done anything like that? And I was like, yeah, thanks for asking, but not really."

"Which just goes to show that his performance so far is very, very special."

When asked if Sindarov will be the winner of Fide Candidates 2026 and the one who will challenge D Gukesh in the next World Chess Championship, Carlsen cautioned the young chess star against nerves and losing his calm as he enters uncharted territory.

"I think it's more than likely that he will win, but it is hard to be in the position in which he is. And especially if you are in it for the first time. Because when you get to this point, thoughts start creeping into your head. We'll see. It's been a lot of fun to follow, that's for sure. And yeah, can't wait to see what's going to happen next."

Fide Candidates 2026 returns for Round 8 on Tuesday after a short break. Sindarov will be up against Andrey Esipenko in the eighth round.