Chess is offering 52% on the outcome nobody argues about
There is a 52% return on the world chess title, riding on a player who was a grandmaster at 12 and unbeaten across 53 games
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Javokhir Sindarov is 20 years old, comes from Tashkent, and has never lost a game at a Candidates chess tournament. In November, he plays for the world chess crown, and bettors on Polymarket's world championship market price him at just 66 cents.
Sindarov has been collecting records since he was 12, when he became a grandmaster, the second youngest anyone has managed. At 19, he won the 2025 World Cup, the youngest player ever to do it. In April he won the Candidates in Cyprus with 10 points from 14 games and not one defeat, the highest score anyone has posted in that format, and he sealed it with a round to spare. Between September and May, he went 53 classical games without losing.
The man he is taking the crown from went the other way. Chess measures players with a number called Elo, which rises when you beat strong opponents and falls when you lose to them. Gukesh Dommaraju was rated 2783 the night he beat Ding Liren for the title in December 2024. The July 2026 list has him at 2717, down eight places in a month to 26th in the world.
That is a year of results, by the way, not one bad week. He finished 9th of ten at Prague in March without winning a game. He came last of six at Norway Chess in June, losing five of his classical games. And he has since withdrawn from most of his remaining schedule to train at home.
To us it seems he lost his magic touch. Even the legendary Magnus Carlsen said: "At the moment it's impossible not to say Sindarov."
Back in 2024, Ding Liren had a rating of 2728 and ranked 23rd in the world, and Gukesh Dommaraju took the crown off him.
It's now 2026, and Gukesh is rated 2717 and ranked 26th. Coincidence? We don't think so. Backing Sindarov is a bet that the same match runs the same way twice, and should it, that returns 52% in December.
This page does not constitute investing advice. Prediction markets and/or gambling may result in loss of funds. You are advised to conduct your own due diligence before taking any action.
