Even the most impassive teenager in the world broke character. If actions speak louder than words, Gukesh’s fist pump screamed, even though there was a library-esque hush in the playing hall at Warsaw when he accepted Javokhir Sindarov’s resignation in a statement victory. For a few seconds, the mask of inscrutability that Gukesh usually wears slipped. Gukesh turned into the teenager that he is, celebrating a victory in a rapid game at a tournament like a tennis player would celebrate a point. Gukesh was celebrating a point well made too.
“That fist pump was for myself,” Gukesh, barely able to contain a smile, told Saint Louis Chess Club in an interview after the day ended. “It felt really good to win. In the heat of the moment, I did something.”
If one of Gukesh’s most famous victories in chess had gained traction around the world for his opponent Magnus Carlsen smashing his fist on the table in anger, the Indian’s victory on Wednesday over Javokhir Sindarov will also be remembered for Gukesh pumping his fist with a pointed look into the crowd.
Gukesh beats Sindarov with the black pieces, and with a fist pump!https://t.co/eXqTzH9u11#GrandChessTour pic.twitter.com/ZeFqSKmJZJ
— chess24 (@chess24com) May 6, 2026
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In the fifth round of the Super Rapid and Blitz tournament in Warsaw, Gukesh defeated Sindarov, who he will face later this year to defend his world champion’s crown. Playing with black pieces, Gukesh earned his victory in 52 moves at Warsaw. The game saw Sindarov blunder his knight on move 25 and drop down to just over a minute on his clock, advantages that Gukesh never let go, tightening the screws on his opponent until the Uzbek yielded.
“I know from the previous experience of playing Ding Liren before our world championship match in 2024, that there’s always something always going on in the background in such games,” Gukesh added.
World champion Gukesh Dommaraju does an uncharacteristic fist pump after defeating Javokhir Sindarov in the fifth round of the Super Rapid and Blitz tournament in Warsaw. (Photo: Screengrab via Saint Louis Chess Club)
Asked if he had attached any more meaning to this encounter than usual, Gukesh pointed out that this was a rapid game, the world championship match would be much different. “But obviously, when you play games like these there is always something running behind. It’s a nice feeling,” he said, his smile no longer hidden.
Just like the Carlsen result last year, Gukesh’s victory over Sindarov at the Super Rapid and Blitz tournament in Warsaw was swimming in subtext. This is the first time after Sindarov was facing Gukesh after he had secured his spot in the world championship as a challenger to the Indian. The quicker formats of rapid and blitz are not known to be Gukesh’s domain while Sindarov bosses them. Gukesh has had a wretched run of results since he became world champion while Sindarov has been in rampaging form this year, sweeping to victory at the Candidates tournament without losing a single game.
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Since Gukesh became the world champion in December 2024, every move he made in critical positions, every game he played and did not win, every tournament position where he did not finish at the top became a referendum on his credentials.
Carlsen recently said that Sindarov would be the favourite at the World Championship because Gukesh has “very obvious weaknesses in his understanding”. Garry Kasparov too installed Sindarov as the favourite against Gukesh.
All of this explains why one of the most impassive players in chess was fist pumping after winning a fifth round tie at a rapid and blitz tournament.
Sindarov came into the second day of the tournament as one of the only two players to be unbeaten. For both players, Wednesday had started with defeats. Gukesh had, in fact, lost in the fourth round to Radoslaw Wojtaszek, who was his second at the last world championship.
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Gukesh and Sindarov had faced off at the Tata Steel Chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee at the start of the year, where Gukesh had fumbled a winning position. Sindarov had resisted Gukesh for six hours before pulling out an incredible draw. That game too had seen Gukesh lose his cool, when he had called the arbiter to ask fans to speak softly since they were chattering away in earshot.
After that draw, Gukesh has told the official YouTube channel of Tata Steel Chess that the only saving grace of the day was that the game had stretched on for so long that he was “too tired to be upset.”
On Wednesday, a fist pump said exactly what he was feeling.