Sindarov shares second place ahead of final day of Saint Louis tournament

India's Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa leads with 11 points, while American Hikaru Nakamura has 8. Nakamura finished the first day in the lead with four points, but lost twice to Praggnanandhaa on the second day. Sindarov also dropped two games to the Indian chess player on the same day.

There are four participants in the tournament, each playing 18 rapid games, six per day, with a time control of 10 minutes plus five seconds per move. The value of the result increases: on October 27, a win earned one point and a draw earned half a point; on October 28, two and one point; on the final day, October 29, a win is worth three points and a draw is worth one. The final games start at 22:00 Tashkent time. If several chess players tie for first place with an equal number of points, an Armageddon will determine the winner.

The prize fund is $425,000, of which $125,000 will go to the winner. An additional bonus is paid for each game won: $1,000 on the first day, $2,000 on the second, and $3,000 on the third.

For 20-year-old Sindarov, this is the last event ahead of the World Championship match against Dommaraju Gukesh in Geneva. The match will begin on November 22, the first game is scheduled for November 24, and the opponents will play up to 14 classical games; the match is set to conclude on December 12, according to Gazeta.uz (Podrobno.uz and Nuz.uz cite December 13). Answering journalists' questions, Sindarov estimated his chances of winning the match at 50.1%, and Gukesh's chances at 49.9%.