Javokhir Sindarov slips to sixth on live ratings shortly after Praggnanandhaa ends Classical unbeaten run

Javokhir Sindarov's form has taken a hit in recent weeks, and has in turn affected his live rating. The Uzbekistani Grandmaster had been enjoying a red-hot run for nearly a year, winning the Fide World Cup in India as well as the Candidates in Cyprus along the way.

And it was his performance at the Candidates, where he clinched victory with a round to spare, where he established himself as one of the top players of the current generation and a favourite heading into his World Championship showdown against current title holder D Gukesh.

Sindarov, however, has suffered a couple of defeats while participating in the Grand Chess Tour this month, both of them against Indian GMs. The 20-year-old lost a rapid game against Gukesh in Warsaw and suffering his first Classical loss since September against R Praggnanandhaa in Bucharest. For a player who had sailed through a tournament as tough as the Candidates unbeaten, the defeats in the span of 10 days certainly comes as a surprising development.

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Javokhir Sindarov's live ratings take a hit after recent defeats

The defeats have also affected Sindarov's live rating. As per the latest ratings on Sunday, 17 May on 2700Chess, Sindarov had dropped one spot to sixth in the Classical list, with Dutch GM Anish Giri leapfrogging him to fifth .

Sindarov lost to Pragg in 42 moves while playing as white in the second round of the Super Chess Classic Romania, and is yet to collect a win after four rounds. Giri, meanwhile, began his campaign with back-to-back draws against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and world No 3 Fabiano Caruana before pulling off a hard-fought victory over Alireza Firouzja in 72 moves.

And in the fourth round of the tournament on Sunday, Giri and Sindarov played out a marathon stalemate that lasted 108 moves, leaving the former in the joint-second spot with Praggnanandhaa and Jorden van Foreest.

Also Read | Sindarov admits he 'spent a lot of energy at Candidates', should have taken a break right after

And it's not just in the live Classical ratings where Sindarov has experienced a slide. He's also dropped three spots to 13th in the Rapid ratings shortly after his defeat at the hands of Gukesh in the Super Rapid and Blitz Poland.