India, April 2 -- Four rounds into the Candidates tournament, a 20-year-old has cruised into the sole lead, a full point ahead of the rest of the field. A day after defeating R Praggnanandhaa with the Black pieces, Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov crushed world No 3 Fabiano Caruana.

He out-prepared and out-played Caruana, which isn't easy, and now has three wins from four rounds. While Praggnanandhaa may not have minded a quiet 37-move draw against Matthias Bluebaum after a bruising loss to Sindarov in Round 3, the tournament heads into its first rest day on Thursday. For Bluebaum, it's a fourth draw in as many rounds. Both he and Praggnanandhaa are now at two points.

Sindarov has shown great tenacity, consistency and preparation and is e...