The FIDE World Cup crowned a new, unusually young chess master on Wednesday: 19‑year‑old Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan. The final against China's Wei Yi was intense, with the two classical games drawn, as well as the first rapid tiebreak, before the teenager prevailed in the second rapid to claim top honors in the Indian city of Goa.

Sindarov's decisive blow came in an Italian Game that evolved into a long, grinding struggle on Wei's kingside. He steadily increased the pressure, eventually pinning his 26-year-old opponent's monarch with a well‑placed queen to convert the initiative. Wei was left with no option but to resign after move 60.

The victory makes Sindarov the youngest title winner in World Cup history. Third-place finisher Andrey Esipenko of Russia rounds out the trio earning passage to next year's Candidates Tournament. Sindarov, Wei and Esipenko will join the field in the March 28-April 16 competition, where the prize is the right to challenge India's reigning champion Gukesh Dommaraju for the world championship.