Sindarov defeats Gukesh for the second time in as many days, refuses to show emotion once again | Watch

D Gukesh did a little fist pump in a rare display of emotion after defeating Javokhir Sindarov in their first meeting since the latter won the Fide Candidates to set up a World Championship showdown later this year.

Gukesh's reaction after their face-off in the Rapid section of Super Rapid and Blitz Poland in Warsaw on Wednesday showed just how much the victory meant to him, especially considering the fact that he has been woefully out of form for months.

Sindarov, however, bounced back just two days later in the first of their two Blitz meetings in the same tournament, avenging his 52-move defeat at the hands of the reigning Classical world champion with a 38-move win on Friday while playing with white pieces.

On Saturday, the final day of the opening event of the 2026 Grand Chess Tour, the Uzbekistani Grandmaster proved that his victory over the Indian GM was by no means a one-off, beating the 19-year-old in 43 moves, playing with black pieces this time.

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As was the case with his victory on the previous day, Sindarov barely showed any emotion after defeating the world champion. Instead, the 20-year-old went about quietly resetting the pieces on his side of the board before getting up from his seat, picking up his blazer from his chair and making his way out of the venue.

Here's a clip of Sindarov's reaction, or the lack of it, after defeating Gukesh in the penultimate round of the Blitz event in Warsaw:

Gukesh finishes sixth at Super Rapid and Blitz Poland

While Gukesh finished fourth in the Rapid section of the tournament, he had a relatively underwhelming performance in the Blitz section. He had beaten the likes of Sindarov and American GM Fabiano Caruana in Rapid but suffered consecutive losses against both of them in Blitz.

Despite losing twice in two days against Sindarov, Gukesh finished only half-a-point behind the 2026 Candidates winner, occupying the seventh spot out of 10 players in the final Blitz standings with 8 points.

Despite being relatively weak in the format, Gukesh did register consecutive wins against Blitz world No 3 Wesley So and American GM Hans Niemann, who would later be crowned champion after finishing with 22.5 points – half-a-point ahead of Caruana, who had finished top of the Blitz standings.

Gukesh had recently announced his withdrawal from this year's Grand Chess Tour in order to focus on his title defence later this year, which led to the tournament organisers replacing him with Sindarov, but is competing in two events as a wildcard participant.

And after finishing sixth in Warsaw, Gukesh will next be seen in action at SuperUnited Croatia, which is also a Rapid and Blitz event and takes place from 29 June to 6 July.