Five time world champion Viswanathan Anand, seems to have picked the right names ahead of the chess Candidates, if the standings at the halfway stage are anything to go by. While picking Fabiano Caruana was predictable and near unanimous, it was Anand’s early picking of Javokhir Sindarov that was on the ball. And while things can go terribly wrong still, with experienced Caruana, a point and half behind, Sindarov looks like cruising down the home stretch. “At the other end of spectrum (from Caruana, the second oldest after Nakamura), who stood out for me was Sindarov. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Chesscom India (@chesscomindia)//www.instagram.com/embed.jsIt’s how Sindarov manages the downs that impressed Anand.

Source: Indian Express April 07, 2026 06:30 UTC