GM Javokhir Sindarov has admitted he may never get another shot at the world title as he prepares for what he calls the “hardest tournament” of his life.
The 20-year-old Uzbek will challenge World Champion GM Gukesh D in the 2026 World Chess Championship in Geneva, with Game 1 on November 24.
"This tournament will be the hardest tournament in my life," Sindarov told The New Indian Express.
"I don't know if I will get a second chance. It's hard to play 14 games against the same person in three weeks."
But while Gukesh has largely disappeared from competitive chess to prepare, Sindarov is doing almost the opposite.
The Candidates winner has kept up a packed tournament schedule and will next play in the Global Chess League before representing Uzbekistan at the Olympiad in Samarkand. Only after the Olympiad will his serious World Championship training camp begin.
Sindarov says he understands Gukesh's approach.
"For Gukesh, I understand," he told The Indian Express. "Last year he played a lot of tournaments and he didn't feel very good mentally. He might have felt that he needed to work on certain things."
Sindarov, meanwhile, currently leads the 2026–27 FIDE Circuit after a remarkable year.
The two could even meet before Geneva. Gukesh will lead India and Sindarov defending champions Uzbekistan at next month's 2026 Chess Olympiad in Samarkand—potentially putting the World Championship rivals across the board from each other just weeks before the match.
And, as they have already made clear, they are not exactly close friends.