13th World Champion Garry Kasparov shared his opinion on the playing style of Uzbek GM Javokhir Sindarov. Kasparov calls Sindarov a universal player, and compares him to 10th World Champion Boris Spassky.

Garry Kasparov

Garry Kasparov

13th World Champion

“How do I see Sindarov’s style? It’s hard to say. If I were to draw a parallel, I’d probably say Boris Spassky. He has a very universal style. That’s the way Spassky played in the mid-1960s: fast, intuitively finding the right spots for his pieces.

But at the same time, there’s a dynamic to his play. Karpov, for example, was more of a positional player, while Sindarov’s style is more universal. And, like Spassky, he has excellent opening preparation.

The 2025-2026 chess season is no longer 1965-1966. But if you want me to place him on a kind of World Champion timeline — the first one that comes to mind is Spassky.”

10th World Champion Boris Spassky was known as a universal and adaptive player, performing well in both attack and defense. 20-year-old Uzbek GM Javokhir Sindarov won the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 in April and will play in the World Championship match at the end of the year.

Credit: Lennart Ootes