Sindarov wins Clutch Chess with an unbeaten final day
Three wins, three draws and a bishop sacrifice against Nakamura secured the title in Saint Louis.
Javokhir Sindarov began the last day of Clutch Chess 2½ points behind Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu. By the end of October 29, he had beaten all three opponents once, gone undefeated across six games and won the tournament.
Against Hikaru Nakamura, Sindarov played the King’s Indian Defence with Black, sacrificed a bishop and later gave up two rooks for minor pieces. He followed that win with a draw against Nakamura to finish on 20½ points. Praggnanandhaa took second with 19, followed by Fabiano Caruana on 16½ and Nakamura on 12.
The final-day scoring made that comeback possible. Wins were worth one point on Tuesday, two on Wednesday and three on Thursday; a Thursday draw earned one. The four players played 18 games apiece over October 27–29, with ten minutes on the clock and five seconds added per move.
Sindarov earned $168,000 including bonuses. He now prepares to face Gukesh Dommaraju in the world championship; this was his last tournament before their match.