Sindarov's Seconds: Abdusattorov, Vidonyak and Likely Madaminov

The World Championship match between Gukesh Dommaraju and Javokhir Sindarov runs from 24 November to 12 December in Cologny, near Geneva, over 14 games at the Fondation Martin Bodmer.

Sindarov will lean on a compatriot, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, among his seconds, as Abdusattorov himself revealed on an Uzbek podcast. The prize fund is 2.5 million US dollars, backed by Salesforce as main sponsor and Timur Turlov’s Freedom Holding as co-sponsor.

Sindarov’s camp

Abdusattorov is not the only name. Sindarov has said he is preparing with his regular coach, the Ukrainian Roman Vidonyak. Mukhiddin Madaminov will almost certainly be involved too, having already helped Sindarov during the successful Candidates Tournament.

That is a tight, mostly Uzbek circle, and it fits a pattern. Players have long drawn their helpers from their own country: in Spassky-Fischer, the best Soviet players backed Spassky and several Americans worked for Fischer, though Fischer reportedly paid little attention to them on chess matters.

Abdusattorov and Sindarov also played together for Uzbekistan at the recent Olympiad in Samarkand, where the team won. Here, Abdusattorov’s role shifts from teammate to back-room colleague.

Gukesh’s side

The Gukesh picture is much thinner. Grzegorz Gajewski is the only name confirmed to be on board again. It would not be surprising if more of the 2024 team returned.

That team was notable. For the match against Ding Liren, Gukesh had Gajewski and Radoslaw Wojtaszek, who also brought in Jan-Krzysztof Duda. Viswanathan Anand lent his experience and passed on some of his former helpers, though he was not involved in the concrete preparation.

Vincent Keymer worked remotely from Spain alongside Wojtaszek and Pentala Harikrishna. With the match in Singapore, seconds in other time zones could sleep while the game ran and work during their own daytime once the players rested. Geneva is a far more convenient setting for everyone, so that trick may matter less this time.

Why the secrecy

Names of seconds are guarded because they hint at the openings being prepared. Before the 2008 Anand-Kramnik match in Bonn, Kramnik housed his team in a hotel in Germany. Someone close to Anand happened to see the group at lunch and passed the names on.

At the opening press conference, Kramnik offered a few names as a smokescreen. Anand, sitting beside him, said he was surprised, then named the people he had expected, and they were the correct ones. Sindarov’s podcast-leaked camp is a reminder that these days almost nothing stays hidden.

The form guide

The ratings tilt toward Sindarov. Gukesh was at 2794 in November 2024 and is now at 2710, 28th in the world.

Sindarov is at 2782, number 4. A convincing win could lift him past Caruana and Nakamura to number 2 behind Carlsen.

Abdusattorov puts his compatriot’s chances at 80:20. In their three classical games, Sindarov has won two and drawn one against Gukesh.

A 72-point rating gap is large for a title match, though ratings say less over 14 games than a snapshot suggests. Gukesh proved a resilient opponent against Ding, and his seconds, whoever they turn out to be, will be working on that.