Sindarov Will Go To The Ball! World Cup Ends In Fairytale For Uzbek Teenager

GM Javokhir Sindarov, the world number 27 and not even the strongest player in Ukbekistan, is a World Cup winner. Drink that in!

The 19-year-old sensation earned himself a cool $120,000 and a place in the history books as the youngest FIDE World Cup Champion on Wednesday with a dramatic final win over GM Wei Yi.

It ended an almost month-long marathon tournament that began in Goa, India, on November 1 with 206 players and eventually narrowed down to the final two.

Sindarov said: "It’s one of the best days of my life, but I hope my career will be better and better after this tournament!"

Outside the venue, Sindarov was draped in the Uzbek flag and embraced by family and friends.

Yi can console himself with an $85,000 runners-up prize and a trip to next year's FIDE Candidates, along with Sindarov and third-place GM Andrey Esipenko from this event.

After going to tiebreaks, the final ended 2.5-1.5 to Sindarov. Uzbekistan's number-two won the decisive second tiebreak game to secure his crown.

Sindarov had put huge pressure on his opponent, before Yi made a decisive mistake in time trouble. China's number-one failed to find the only move 57.Kg2 to stay alive. Instead, with a single second remaining, Yi erred with 57.Rxd4?? Sindarov immediately jumped on the opportunity.

Yi extended his hand in resignation, and Sindarov happily accepted, prompting applause throughout the hall.

It was a wonderful end to what has been a tournament of shocks as big name after big name has fell.

India's challenge evaporated with a heart-breaking defeat for its last remaining hope GM Arjun Erigaisi so there was no fairytale home winner.

Instead, it is Sindarov celebrating before the attention turns to FIDE's next major event: the 2025 FIDE Rapid and Blitz Championships in Doha, Qatar, from December 26 to 30.

Starting on Thursday, is the London Chess Classic.