Sindarov says Gukesh not a friend; expect drama at next World Chess Championship match

The one nice thing about the last World Chess Championship match between China’s Ding Liren and his young Indian challenger D Gukesh was that they were both friendly to each other. No theatrics, just regular handshakes, before and after the games.

But don’t expect the same when the defending champion Gukesh takes on the challenger Javokhir Sindarov in the next championship by the end of this year. That is not because Sindarov is rude; in fact, he is always smiling.

But based on a recent interview Sindarov gave and an unusual behaviour from Gukesh after he scored a win over the Uzbek star, one can only assume that the next championship will not be short of drama. “I have a lot of friends; I'm a friendly guy, but I never speak with Gukesh,” Sindarov said in a recent interview.

“I have friends from India; Arjun (Erigaisi), Nihal (Sarin). But with Gukesh, we only talk about games.” Nihal is a native of Thrissur in Kerala, who is the highest-rated Malayali grandmaster ever, with a rating of 2723.

The Sindarov interview was reportedly taken before the duo played a series of games at the Grand Chess Tour: Super Rapid & Blitz Poland earlier this month. Gukesh, the usually calm young man, broke character with a fist-pumping action after beating Sindarov in an error-filled game.