How imperious Javokhir Sindarov staked his claim with a singular Candidates run

Arpora is a quiet but touristy village in northern Goa. It is typical Goa, in fact: beaches, foreign travellers — interestingly, many of them elderly people from the UK — bars and great food.

Back in October-November last year, many of the biggest names in world chess assembled at Arpora for the most prestigious knockout event in the sport. The format of the World Cup is such that your campaign, even if you are one of the strong favourites, could end early with just one bad move. Unlike most chess tournaments, which are played on a league basis, you just cannot afford a couple of poor games in a row: there is no comeback at the World Cup.