"I got kind of caught in the opening, said a subdued Caruana at the post-game press conference. The US champion got into heavy time pressure, and after 20 moves was down to 10 minutes to reach move 40, with no per-move increment."
"Of course I never imagined that I would go into the rest day with plus three, but today I played a really good game and the prep was also fantastic, thanks to my seconds, said Sindarov."
"The key white innovations were 13 dxc5! and 14 c6! while Caruana's critical errors came at moves 17 and 18, when 17Qxd4! and 18Qxd4! should enable Black to survive."
Javokhir Sindarov, at 21, has emerged as the favorite for the 2026 Candidates in Cyprus, starting with an impressive 3.5/4. His victory against world No 3, Fabiano Caruana, marked the fastest start in the double-round Candidates format. Sindarov's preparation against Caruana's Queen's Gambit Accepted was crucial, leading to Caruana's time pressure and critical errors. Caruana had previously defeated Wei Yi in just 19 moves. The next key match will be between Hikaru Nakamura and Sindarov.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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