Sindarov Beats Nakamura Again in Miami Rapid

Javokhir Sindarov handed Hikaru Nakamura another defeat on Monday, beating the American in just 22 moves during round two of the USA vs. Uzbekistan match at WR Chess Rapid & Blitz Miami 2026, held at the Faena Hotel in Miami Beach. The win pushed Uzbekistan into an early 2-0 team lead over the first two rounds of the event.

A Rivalry With History

This wasn’t just any individual pairing. Sindarov, the 20-year-old Uzbek grandmaster, defeated Nakamura earlier this year at the 2026 Candidates Tournament in Cyprus to emerge as the official challenger for the World Championship. Their Miami rematch was one of the most anticipated pairings of the two-day team match, and Sindarov made an early statement by taking it down again.

How the Game Unfolded

Playing White, Sindarov met Nakamura’s Petrov Defense with an early pawn grab in the center, and by move 13 had opened lines on the kingside where Nakamura’s king had castled. A tactical skirmish around moves 13-16 saw both sides trade blows, but it was Sindarov’s bishop that proved decisive, infiltrating along the h7-b1 diagonal to pin down Nakamura’s position. With his king exposed and the clock running low, Nakamura was unable to hold, and Sindarov closed out the point with a bishop check on move 22 that forced resignation.

Notably, the game was also lopsided on the clock — Nakamura’s reserves dropped sharply in the middlegame while Sindarov’s time stayed comfortable throughout, suggesting the American may have been caught out of preparation in a sharp position.

Format and Stakes

The Miami match pits four-player squads from Team USA (Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, and Levon Aronian) against Team Uzbekistan (Sindarov, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Nodirbek Yakubboev, and Shamsiddin Vokhidov) in a Scheveningen format, where every player faces every opponent from the other team. Day one, July 27, covers four rounds of rapid; day two, July 28, moves to eight rounds of blitz. Each round of four boards counts as a single match worth two points for a win or one for a draw, with total board points as the first tiebreaker and an Armageddon game as the final decider if needed.

With Sindarov’s win over Nakamura as the headline result, Uzbekistan will look to carry its round-two momentum into the remaining rapid rounds before the format shifts to the faster blitz stage on day two.

Play Through the Game Yourself

Want to see exactly where Nakamura’s position fell apart? Copy the PGN below and paste it into our free Chess Game Review tool to step through every move, see engine evaluations in real time, and spot the exact moment Sindarov’s attack became winning.

[Event "USA vs. Uzbekistan: WR Chess Rapid & Blitz Miami 2026 | Match"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2026.07.27"]
[Round "02"]
[White "Sindarov, Javokhir"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2718"]
[BlackElo "2742"]
[TimeControl "900+10"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. Nxe5 Nd7 6. Nxd7 Bxd7 7. O-O Bd6
8. Nc3 Nxc3 9. bxc3 O-O 10. Qh5 f5 11. Rb1 b6 12. Re1 c6 13. c4 dxc4
14. Bxc4+ Kh8 15. Bg5 Qc7 16. Bf7 Bxh2+ 17. Kh1 Bf4 18. Re7 Rad8 19. Bf6 Qd6
20. Bg6 h6 21. Bxg7+ Kg8 22. Bh7+ 1-0