Team Vitality has announced that Chess superstar Javokhir Sindarov has rejoined the organization through 2027, reuniting the player and org after their 2025 association.
Sindarov’s rapid progress threatens to blitz the Chess world
Sindarov was part of Team Vitality from May to September of last year, representing the org in several tournaments, including the Esports World Cup 2025, where he placed 13th-16th, but the player’s status has significantly increased since last year.
The 20-year-old recently earned his place at the World Chess Championship after winning the FIDE Candidates 2026 tournament, meaning he will challenge India’s Gukesh Dommaraju for the title of World Chess Champion.
The Candidates victory followed his November 2025 win at the Chess World Cup, collecting $120,000 for the victory and earning his place at FIDE Candidates.
As a result of recent success, the 20-year-old has reached new peaks in both his Standard and Rapid Elo with 2745 and 2727, respectively, according to FIDE, only slightly trailing his Blitz peak from June to August 2022.
Sindarov, the Counter-Strike fanatic
Sindarov becomes the third piece of Vitality’s Chess offering, with the organization’s French roots evident in its other two players, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Jules Moussard.
As for Sindarov, the Uzbekistani shares a different link to Vitality, being an ardent Counter-Strike player despite his Grandmaster status in Chess.
Reflecting on his competition at the FIDE 2026 Candidates tournament, Sindarov self-deprecatingly shared, “When these guys worked 10 hours in a day [studying chess], I spent my time every day with Counter-Strike.”
Upon securing the World Chess Championship spot, the 20-year-old was asked by chess24.com whether he would step away from CS to focus on the chance to become World Champion, he replied, “I don’t know actually. I like this game, and I wanna play, why not? When I play Counter-Strike, I was always living in another world, and it’s always very fun.”
So while the Chess prodigy has the Chess.com Open, the World Chess Championship, and EWC 2026’s Chess tournament to look forward to, he may wish he were playing for Vitality’s dominant Counter-Strike roster.
Danny Engels, Chief International Officer at Team Vitality, celebrated Sindarov joining the org once again, stating, “We are incredibly proud to welcome Javokhir back to Team Vitality. He represents the new generation of chess: bold, ambitious, and unafraid to make big moves.
“His trajectory speaks for itself, and we know he has everything it takes to become the next World Champion. This signing is a natural step in our ambition to be at the forefront of chess and esports, and to bring the game to new audiences around the world.”
Can Sindarov take the title of World Chess Champion? Discuss that on our Discord.
For more news from Team Vitality, see their new Counter-Strike academy roster.
Darragh is an Esports Journalist for Insider Gaming specialising in Counter-Strike. He loves to explore how esports teams work, or why they very often do not.
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