Sindarov’s Saint Louis comeback gives Geneva a new storyline

Javokhir Sindarov began the final day in Saint Louis 2½ points behind Praggnanandhaa. That deficit could disappear in one game under the Clutch Chess scoring system. Sindarov finished with 20½ points, clinching first place with a draw against Hikaru Nakamura in his final game.

Why the lead was vulnerable

The four grandmasters played 18 rapid games at 10 minutes plus five seconds per move. A win on the final day was worth three points. That gave the trailing players a way back into the race and meant the standings after the first two days told only part of the story.

Move 23: Sindarov opens lines around the king

Set up the position after 23.Nd4. Nakamura has a pawn on g4 and another on f3. Sindarov plays 23…Bxg4, and 24.fxg4 pulls White’s f-pawn away from the center. Black then takes on e4 with a knight. By 26…Qh4, Black’s queen is next to the pawn on h3. Follow the g-file from there: the rook comes in with 29…Rxg4+, and Nakamura’s king moves to f1.

One round later, a draw was enough

In the final game Sindarov had White in a Berlin Defense. By move 30 both sides had traded down to queens and pawns. Replay 31.Qh6 Kg8 32.Qe3 Kf7 and watch the same position recur. The win with Black gave Sindarov the lead. The draw with White clinched the event.

What to carry into Geneva

A classical world title match gives each win the same weight and leaves far more time for a single game. Saint Louis gives us a recent example of Sindarov playing with a deficit and then protecting a lead. In Geneva, watch how he handles those two jobs when he sees the same opponent across the board every round.