The Man Who Refuses to Lose: Sindarov Escapes Three Near-Disasters in One Wild Day at St. Louis

Imagine walking a tightrope. Now imagine doing it three times in one afternoon, each time wobbling so badly that everyone watching gasps — and each time, somehow, stepping safely onto the other side.

That was Javokhir Sindarov's Tuesday.

The 21-year-old Uzbek grandmaster, who will challenge World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju for the title later this year, is playing in the 2026 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz — his first-ever event in the city. After a nervy start on day one, day two turned into a masterclass in one very particular chess skill: the art of not losing, even when you probably should.

The Man Still on Top

Let's start with the leader. GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu continues to lead the 2026 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz at the end of day two. After six rounds, he has earned nine points out of a possible 12 and is two points ahead of GM Javokhir Sindarov, his closest rival. One point further back are GMs Vincent Keymer, Wesley So, and Anish Giri.

It was, on paper, a quiet day. Although there was plenty of fighting chess, somehow most of the games ended in draws. But quiet only in the final scoreline. Underneath, it was chaos.

Escape Number One: The Trapped Bishop

Round four looked, for a moment, like it might be the day Praggnanandhaa pulled clear of the field for good. By move 13 in a King's Indian Defense, Praggnanandhaa trapped his opponent's bishop and looked sure to snag two more points. But Sindarov, as he's proven before (and would prove again), showed his resourcefulness to save what looked like a hopeless position.

A trapped bishop is usually a death sentence in a grandmaster game. Sindarov simply refused to accept it.

Escape Number Two: The One That Got Away From Aronian

If round four was tense, round five was outright theater. This time, Sindarov was the one doing the attacking — dismantling former world number-two Levon Aronian right out of the opening. Sindarov, on the other hand, was winning right out of the opening against GM Levon Aronian.

Then the tables turned. Somehow, the former world number-two survived with his king in the center into an exchange-down endgame—still losing. Aronian kept fighting, and fighting some more, until he had clawed all the way back to a winning position of his own. But he didn't see it. And after that, Aronian even got a winning position, with the knight versus rook, but agreed to a draw by repeating moves.

The cruelest part came right after the handshake. Immediately after shaking hands, Sindarov showed his opponent the winning 66...Qd6!. Aronian had let a win slip through his fingers without even realizing it — and it was Sindarov, the man who'd been losing minutes earlier, who broke the news.

Escape Number Three: Surviving Caruana

By round six, you'd think Sindarov would be running on fumes. Instead, he did it again — this time against home favorite Fabiano Caruana. In round six, Sindarov showed his tenacity in defending a worse position against GM Fabiano Caruana, who has lost one game, made five draws, and is yet to win one. Full credit goes to the Uzbek superstar, however, as he found the exchange sacrifice 30...Rxc7!, a move Caruana saw, and then 35...Bf4!?, a move he did not see.

Three rounds. Three moments where Sindarov should, by most reasonable predictions, have lost. Three times, he found something in the position that nobody else at the board could see. As the caption to the game put it plainly: Sindarov, though he's had worse positions, has not yet lost a single game.

Caruana, for his part, was refreshingly honest about his own two days. He explained that his tough game against Praggnanandhaa the day before had left him rattled, admitting his play across the tournament had been "not great overall." His new target is simpler: survive the rapid at 50% and make his stand in the blitz.

What Comes Next

The final three rounds of rapid chess are set for Tuesday, with Praggnanandhaa having the black pieces against Giri in the day's first game of the day. Praggnanandhaa still leads. Sindarov is still two points back. But after a day like this, "two points back" feels like it's hiding the real story — a challenger who is discovering, game by game, exactly how far his resourcefulness can carry him.

Chess isn't only won by finding the best move. Sometimes it's won by refusing to accept that you're already lost. Sindarov proved that three times over on Tuesday — and there are still four rounds of blitz left to see if his luck, and his nerve, can hold.