Sindarov praised for displaying 'champion's attitude' after flippant reaction to prep leak: 'Very impressive'

Javokhir Sindarov is primed to become the challenger to world champion D Gukesh as the Uzbek Grandmaster continues to lead the ongoing Candidates by a fair margin. After eight rounds, Sindarov has a two-point lead over the second-placed duo of Fabiano Caruana and Anish Giri.

While the 20-year-old dominates Candidates, a controversy arose as Sindarov's preparataion was leaked on social media. Reddit users found Sindarov's Lichess account where the Uzbek youngster was preparing his opening during the 2025 Chess World Cup, a tournament he won to qualify for the Candidates.

He was asked about this preparation leak after his eighth-round draw in the Candidates and Sindarov said he did not worry about it.

Sindarov does not care about prep leak

Sindarov said that he was shocked to know that his preparations were not private but also stated that he did not care much about the incident as it was a long time back.

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"I cannot remember when I opened Lichess Study but it should be a long time ago. After that, I was always trying to open it privately," Sindarov told ChessBase India.

"In the World Cup, I got a message from one of the guys who told me that your Lichess Study is not private. I was shocked because at this moment I was checking some lines before a round. In general, after this I am always trying to be careful and don't use Lichess Study," Sindarov said as he could not stop grinning.

"Maybe someone saw the lines but still I do not care because it is a long time ago," he said.

He had given a similar response to Chess24, terming the prep leak 'not so big deal'.

Chess legend Judit Polgar, in commentary for Chess24 hailed Sindarov for showing the attitude of a champion with his nonchalant response. “I liked Sindarov’s attitude. It’s a champion’s attitude — whatever happens, happens. We go with the flow and we get the best out of what we have.”

Co-commentator David Howell was also impressed. “Very impressive attitude. I would be freaking out and a bit tilted if this had happened to me," he said.