17 April,2026 10:13 AM IST | Mumbai | Ronan Carvalho
D Gukesh and Javokhir Sindarov. Pics/FIDE`s Instagram
Indian GM Pravin Thipsay believes D Gukesh can "crush" Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov when the two face off in the World Championship clash later this year, but only if he can recapture the form that catapulted him to the world title in 2024.
"Gukesh is a very strong player and he is almost unparalleled, compared to Sindarov. However, in 2025, we didn't really see the best of Gukesh. It was disappointing to see such a perfect player in 2022, 2023, and 2024 make so many mistakes last year. But if he's able to discover his form from earlier years, he will just crush Sindarov, who has a lot of weaknesses," Thipsay told mid-day.
However, the 66-year-old advised Gukesh to be wary of Sindarov's opening moves. "Sindarov's opening preparation is very good, he tends to win a lot of his games in the opening phase whereas it is not in Gukesh's nature to prepare well and win in the opening phase. So, it will be an interesting clash," opined Thipsay, before adding that the Uzbek's early advantage could be neutralised by Gukesh because "like [Russian GM Anatoly] Karpov, he [Gukesh] is one of the best players when it comes to defence."
