FIDE Candidates 2026 R5: Sindarov’s Supremacy continues as he scores a hat-trick

by Devansh Singh - 04/04/2026

After 5 rounds of play at the FIDE Candidates 2026, it looks like Uzbek Star Javokhir Sindarov is an unstoppable force who has no immovable object in his way to win the Candidates. He scored a hat-trick of wins to maintain his sole lead over Fabiano Caruana, who is still in second place. In the 5th round, Sindarov won his game against the World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura with black pieces to lead the event with 4.5/5 points. In another decisive result, Fabiano Caruana won his game against Matthias Bluebaum to keep himself in the race with 3.5/5 points. Pragganandha drew his game against Esipenko, while Anish Giri and Wei Yi also played a solid draw. Round 6 will start on 4th April at 15:45 Local Time/18:15 IST. Photos: Michal Walusza, Yoav Nis/ FIDE

The Uzbek Star takes control of the Candidates

Going into the rest day, Sindarov was leading the event with 3.5/4 points while Caruana was on 2.5/4 points. Coming into the 5th round of Candidates, Sindarov scored another important victory over Nakamura to maintain his lead. Sindarov is also World #5 in live ratings, while Hikaru slipped to World #3 after this defeat. The early wins will help him keep his shape and composure to perform well in the upcoming rounds.

Happy before the round, happier after it | Photo: Yoav Nis

Check out some stats posted by Srinath Narayanan

Open Section

This is an everyday story now: Sindarov winning yet another game looks normal. Sindarov scored a hat-trick to keep his sole lead. Fabiano Caruana won his game against Matthias Bluebaum to keep up in second place. R Praggnanandhaa drew his game against Andrey Esipenko and Anish Giri, and Wei Yi also drew their game. Sindarov is on 4.5/5, Caruana is on 3.5/5, while Praggnanandhaa and Anish are on 2.5/5 points.

Fabiano won a nice attacking game against Matthias Bluebaum | Photo: Michal Walusza

Hikaru Nakamura vs Javokhir Sindarov (0-1)

This is the second classical encounter between Hikaru Nakamura and Javokhir Sindarov, who played in the Qatar Masters 2023, and the game ended in a draw. Here in Candidates, Hikaru decided to play an interesting line, sacrificing 2 of his pawns for better activity, but he said in the post-game interview that he forgot the line, or the move that Javokhir played was not in his file.

Hikaru took more than 1 hour to think before playing the 13th move h4; it was not even the best move | Photo: Yoav Nis

It took Hikaru 67 minutes and 44 seconds to decide what to play, and he eventually played 13.h4, Ne4 was the best move in the position, with the same response from the black side with Qa5+ b4, Nxb4.

" I didn't expect Hikaru to play h4 - but I also don't understand what he was thinking... I think it's a big mistake to think 1 hour for 1 move, probably" - Javokhir Sindarov after defeating Hikaru Nakamura in Round 5 | Photo: Yoav Nis

After exchanges, Sindarov managed to get this opposite coloured bishop endgame with 3 extra pawns, and 1 of them is a passed pawn. Sindarov eventually won this beautiful game.

Hikaru Nakamura vs Javokhir Sindarov (0-1) | Photo: Yoav Nis

In this video, we show you all that happened in the exciting Round 5 clash between Javokhir Sindarov and Hikaru Nakamura - right from the starting moments to the final handshake, detailed post-game interview, fan interaction, and the FIDE Press conference | Video: ChessBase India

Check out what Garry Kasparov had to say about Sindarov's performance

Fabiano Caruana vs Matthias Bluebaum (1-0)

It was the third classical clash between Fabiano Caruana and Matthias Bluebaum. Both players faced each other in the Grenke Open 2017 and 2018, and both games ended in a draw. This time, Caruana decided to play the Paulsen Attack against Petrov's Defence. The game already got interesting after the opening as both players decided to castle on opposite sides. Caruana got the early initiative in the attack and managed to checkmate Bluebaum in just 28 moves.

Tough loss of Bluebaum as he was playing solid chess with 4 draws before this round | Photo: Yoav Nis

Bluebaum played 18...Qa5?, the losing move, as it allows white to play 19.h5 with a clear initiative and some beautiful combinations to finish the game.

Caruana giving autographs after winning his game | Photo: Yoav Nis

White to play, Checkmate in 2 moves

Finish the game in style, just like Caruana

Fabiano Caruana vs Matthias Bluebaum (1-0) | Photo: Michal Walusza

Interview with Fabiano Caruana | Video: ChessBase India

R Praggnanandhaa and Andrey Esipenko decided to repeat the moves and take a quick draw after 31 moves | Photo: Michal Walusza

Anish Giri vs Wei Yi was a solid game that ended in a draw | Photo: Yoav Nis

Round 5 Result | Graphic: FIDE

Standings after round 5 | Graphic: FIDE

Round 6 Pairings:

Replay games of the Open section

Women's Section

In the Women's Candidates 2026, there is no clear favourite as Bibisara Assaubayeva, who was co-leading the event after 4 rounds, lost her game against Kateryna Lagno in the 5th round. In another decisive result, Zhu Jiner scored her second win in a row. She won against Divya Deshmukh in the 4th round and in the 5th round, she beat Vaishali Rameshbabu to take the joint lead with Kateryna Lagno and Anna Muzychuk. The games between Aleksandra Goryachkina vs Anna Muzychuk and Tan Zhongyi vs Divya Deshmukh ended in a draw.

World#2 Zhu Jiner secured her 2nd win in a row to gain the joint lead | Photo: Yoav Nis

Kateryna Lagno vs Bibisara Assaubayeva (1-0)

Kateryna Lagno got an early advantage playing with the white pieces against Bibisara Assaubayeva. Bibisara decided to play the Sicilian Dragon, which is not that common at the top level. It was an opposite-side castle game where Lagno managed to get the better of Bibisara and won her game to get a joint lead.

Kateryna Lagno vs Bibisara Assaubayeva (1-0) | Photo: Yoav Nis

Zhu Jiner vs Vaishali Rameshbabu (1-0)

Zhu Jiner managed to gain an early space advantage against Vaishali Rameshbabu and slowly improved her position, and eventually won the game in 62 moves. | Photo: Yoav Nis

Tan Zhongyi vs Divya Deshmukh (0.5-0.5) | Photo: Michal Walusza

Anna Muzychuk drew her game against Aleksandra Goryachkina (0.5-0.5) | Photo: Yoav Nis

Round 5 Results | Graphic: FIDE

Standings after round 5 | Graphic: FIDE

Round 6 Pairing

Replay games of the Women's section

Photo Gallery: ChessBase India, FIDE

Carrillo Pujol Jose made the inaugural move on the board of Hikaru vs Sindarov | Photo: Michal Walusza

When your opponent takes 67 minutes for one move | Photo: Yoav Nis

Can you guess the player....? | Photo: Yoav Nis

Age does not matter when you play or follow chess | Photo: Michal Walusza

Biggest Support | Photo: Michal Walusza

IM Pavel Tregubov gave a simultaneous exhibition | Photo: Yoav Nis

Is he going to win it all before the last round?? | Photo: Yoav Nis

Play the moveeeee | Photo: Yoav Nis

Are you doing your notations correctly? Anish is keeping an eye on you | Photo: Yoav Nis

Where do you follow the games?? | Photo: Yoav Nis

He knows something that we don't | Photo: Yoav Nis

What a beautiful shot by Yoav Nis

Caruana is playing solid chess and can come back at any point | Photo: Michal Walusza

When you know now there is no #greatbluebaumsweep | Photo: Yoav Nis

Amruta Mokal of ChessBase India interviews Fabiano Caruana | Photo: Michal Walusza

Praggnanandhaa is playing solid chess and will be facing Hikaru Nakamura in the 6th round | Photo: Yoav Nis

Videos:

Check out this detailed recap video of the 5th round at FIDE Candidates 2026 | Video: ChesBase India

Check out the initial moments of the 5th round at the FIDE Candidates 2026 as the players make their way into the game | Video: ChesBase India

Watch Live Stream by IM Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal from Cyprus | Video: ChesBase India

Jan Gustafsson is a very unique personality in the world of chess. He is not just a very strong player; he has also served as a second and a trainer to some of the best players in the world, including Magnus Carlsen. Here at the FIDE Candidates 2026 tournament, he is also one of the official commentators. After the first 4 rounds, we got a chance to get his insights into the event. With his deep views and dry humour, check out this wonderful video. | Video: ChesBase India

Pairings: Round 6

Graphic: FIDE

Venue: Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort, Cyprus

Official FIDE partner for Candidates 2026 | Photo: FIDE Chess

The multi-award-winning Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort has been selected by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) as the ideal destination to host the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026, an event of historic and international significance. This selection represents the highest recognition both for Cyprus and for Cap St Georges Hotel& Resort, affirming the prestige, reliability, and organizational excellence required to host a world-class chess tournament. Surrounded by landscaped gardens with centuries-old olive trees, the resort reflects the island’s character through refined architecture and well-designed spaces, with a strong focus on privacy, comfort, and attentive service.

Both tournaments are held side by side at the Cap St Georges Hotel and Resort in Cyprus, a five-star coastal venue near Paphos. The resort offers a calm and professional setting for elite competition, with the playing hall, accommodation, and preparation areas located within the same complex, allowing players to focus fully on the event. Photo Gallery of Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort

Enjoy an amazing venue tour of the FIDE Candidates 2026 in Cyprus, happening at the Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort in Paphos. Sagar and Amruta give an extensive tour. Enjoy!

Schedule and Format

Each tournament features eight of the world’s strongest players competing in a double round-robin format over fourteen rounds of classical chess. All the games will start at 15:30 Local Time/18:15 IST

Key details and Information

Two tournaments will be held side by side – the (Open) FIDE Candidates Tournament and the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament.

Format: In both the Open and the Women’s, the eight qualified players will compete in a double round-robin tournament, consisting of 14 rounds.

Time control: The games will be played with a time control of 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 41.

Prize fund: The minimum prize fund for the event stands at a record €1,000,000.

Tie-breaks: In the event of a tie for first place after 14 rounds, a playoff will be held to determine the winner who qualifies for the World Championship Match, which will take place in November 2026.