Uzbek GM Javokhir Sindarov shared his thoughts on the importance of age factor at the Candidates Tournament in an interview on the FIDE YouTube channel. Sindarov states that age isn’t that important in Candidates, noting that he doesn’t feel young.

Javokhir Sindarov

Javokhir Sindarov

Uzbekistan's No. 2

“Does age factor give me an advantage? No. I don’t even feel that young. Gukesh won when he was 18. Anyway, I don’t think age matters here. If the opponents were over 40, maybe, but there aren’t any here. It’s all about your chess skill.

I think Fabi has a good chance because he’s played very well in recent tournaments. But this is a very tricky tournament, and anything can happen in one tournament. Everyone has a good chance to win, and luck is also very important.

Of course, I have a good chance too, and I’ll try to give my best.”

Uzbekistan’s No. 2 Javokhir Sindarov (2745) is 20 years old, at the moment of publication. He became a grandmaster at the age of 12. Indian GM Gukesh Dommaraju (2748) became the youngest-ever World Chess Champion in 2024.

Credit: Michal Walusza / FIDE