In a rare display of emotion, the reigning world chess champion Gukesh Dommaraju celebrated with a fist pump over the board as he took down his world championship challenger Javokhir Sindarov in Round 5 of the Grand Chess Tour Super Rapid in Poland on Wednesday.
It was the first meeting between the two Grandmasters, who will play the youngest world championship match in chess history later this year, since Sindarov won the 2026 Candidates tournament to earn a shot at dethroning Gukesh.
Playing with the black pieces, Gukesh outplayed Sindarov in a long 52-minute battle.
As soon as the Uzbekistan Grandmaster resigned, the usually calm and composed Gukesh celebrated with a fist pump while still seated before the board.
WATCH Gukesh’s winning reaction here
Gukesh employed the Caro Kann defence against Sindarov’s king’s pawn opening and landed in an equal position out of the opening play.
The first decisive moment of the game happened ten moves later as Sindarov misplayed his knight to e4 square in a major blunder.
Gukesh spotted the error and played the right combination of moves to take complete control over the match.
Despite Sindarov’s valiant efforts to hold on, Gukesh was tactically alert as he converted an important match to gain a psychological edge over his challenger.
Gukesh ended Day 2 of the rapid competition in Poland with six points in six rounds. He has so far lost two, drawn two, and won two games in the tournament.
Each win in the tournament earns two points for a player, while a draw earns them a point.
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