Sindarov admits he 'spent a lot of energy at Candidates', should have taken a break right after: ’It's really very hard’

Uzbekistani Grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov admitted he "spent a lot of energy" at the Fide Candidates in Cyprus and could have taken a break after such an intense tournament instead of participating in the Grand Chess Tour less than a month later.

Sindarov had been in red-hot form for months heading into the Candidates, which he won in dominant fashion with a round to spare to setup a World Championship showdown with current title holder D Gukesh. The 20-year-old's form, however, has taken a hit since the Candidates triumph, with Sindarov suffering defeats at the hands of Gukesh and R Praggnanandhaa in the span of 10 days.

Gukesh had beaten Sindarov in their first meeting since the latter's Candidates triumph during the Rapid section of the Super Rapid and Blitz Poland tournament in Warsaw, the opening event of this year's Grand Chess Tour.

Sindarov bounced back with consecutive victories over the reigning Classical world champion during the Blitz leg of the tournament. The Uzbekistani GM, however, lost to Praggnanandhaa, whom he had beaten twice in as many meetings at the Candidates, in the second round of Super Chess Classic Romania in Warsaw, suffering his first defeat in the Classical format since September.

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"After the candidates, I started playing tournaments, which were very strong. Everyone is prepared well, and it's really very hard," Sindarov was quoted by the Grand Chess Tour as saying. "I spent a lot of energy at the Candidates, and maybe I needed a little rest, but okay, I will try to play solid and don't push a lot."

Sindarov admits to playing wrong line against Praggnanandhaa

Sindarov also reflected on his defeat against defending champion Praggnanandhaa, who won in 42 moves while playing with black pieces, admitting that he picked a line that would have worked against anyone in the tournament except the Indian GM.

"I think yesterday I chose the wrong line. This line works here against anyone except Pragg because he actually knew this line. One of my seconds told me Peter in his stream said ‘Pragg has your file’ and of course he knows it. If he knows this line, white is in big trouble. I lost a lot of energy to find everything and it’s a big mistake," Sindarov told the tournament organisers after the conclusion of Round 3 on Saturday.

Sindarov currently is in the third spot with 1 point following his third-round draw against French GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who is sharing the top spot with four others including Pragg, on Saturday.