Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov (in photo) and China's Wei Yi confirmed their places in next year's Candidates tournament by reaching the final of the FIDE World Cup on Sunday.
Credit: Michal Walusza/FIDE
19-year-old Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan was quite clearly the best player against compatriot Nodirbek Yakubboev, winning the first tie-break game and drawing the other in the semifinal tie-break to become the first player to advance to the finals of the FIDE World Cup 2025.
In contrast, Chinese Wei Yi was on the back foot and facing a disadvantageous position in the second game. He was out of time but Alexey Esipenko simply blundered a whole rook in a most dramatic fashion, allowing Wei to advance to the final.
Wei, the highest rated player amongst the four, quite clearly had Lady Luck smiling benevolently on him as he advanced to the finals. Earlier on Saturday, both the Classical games of the semifinals had resulted in draws, forcing a tie-break under faster time control.
Sindarov and Wei will not only contest the final but have booked their berths into the eight-player Candidates tournament next year in Cyprus; both will be making their debut. All, however, is not lost for Yakubboev and Esipenko as they will have to fight it out to stake claim on the third qualifying slot for the Candidates even though their campaign for the World Cup title has ended.
The final comprises of two Classical games to be played on Monday and Tuesday and ties would be resolved on Wednesday under faster time controls in the tie-break. The playoffs to decide the third place will be played simultaneously in a similar format.
“It is the biggest achievement of my career. I am very happy about it," said 26-year-old Wei. "I didn’t know what would be the result today (Sunday) but I wanted to give my best. In the final position in the second game, my opponent blundered a rook. Otherwise, black could have played for a win and I would have to play for a draw. This is a long tournament and maybe he was tired.”
Wei, who also holds the record as the youngest player to cross the Elo 2700 barrier at just 15, also dispelled rumours or speculations that former World Champion Ding Liren was a part of his team during this event.
Both players repeated their openings from the other day in first game and the constant fidgeting by all of the GMs on the day indicated their mental state. Sindarov appeared better in the Queen’s Gambit game against Yakkuboev with the Black pieces and brought home the point splendidly after 47 moves in a double rook each ending.
Yakubboev’s rooks were placed passively and Sindarov's two passed pawns on the queen-side proved to be the game clinchers. Yakubboev was also under severe time pressure having just about a minute as against Sindarov’s 6 minutes.
Desperately needing a win in the second game for survival, Yakubboev could not make much headway against some solid play by Sindarov. In fact, Sindarov appeared to have a comfortable position throughout and preferred to play quietly even though he had an opportunity to press.
In an Italian Opening in the second game, Wei, playing with the White pieces, was not exactly in a comfortable position in the end-game stages. The position was fluid and Esipenko missed promising continuations where he could have pressed for victory. Wei was literally on borrowed time by then, making the last three moves with barely a second remaining on his clock. This probably led to Esipenko’s momentary lapse in concentration as he blundered a rook and resigned immediately on the 57th turn
Earlier Wei had missed an opportunity in the first game and had to stay content with a draw after 36 moves.
Results: Semifinals: Tie breaks: GM Javokhir Sindarov bt GM Nodirbek Yakubboev 1.5-0.5; GM Wei Yi bt GM Andrey Esipenko 1.5-0.5.