Team USA held off a surging Uzbekistan squad 14–10 in the inaugural WR Chess Rapid & Blitz Miami tournament at Faena Miami Beach on Monday and Monday, July 27–28, clinching the match with a round to spare in the organization's first event on American soil.

The two-day showdown pitted four of America's top grandmasters against Uzbekistan's young national team in the Scheveningen format, where every player faces every opponent across rapid and blitz rounds. Team USA fielded Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, and Levon Aronian, with Leinier Dominguez as reserve. Uzbekistan countered with world championship challenger Javokhir Sindarov, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Nodirbek Yakubboev, and Shamsiddin Vokhidov.

The Americans built a 5–3 lead after Monday's rapid section, powered by Aronian's 2.5 points from three games. But the final score masked how tight the contest was: individual game margins were just 8.5–7.5 in rapid and 25–23 in blitz.

Sindarov stole the show despite the loss. He beat Nakamura twice, including a 22-move rapid demolition that reached 99.7% accuracy per Chess.com, according to Gazeta.uz, then won again with the black pieces in blitz. The victories extended a streak: Sindarov had already beaten Nakamura at the 2026 Candidates Tournament in Cyprus, where the Uzbek earned the right to challenge World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju.

"That game was very easy for me because I had excellent opening preparation," Sindarov said of the rapid win. "I think he knows everything, but he forgot this variation."

Sindarov and Abdusattorov each finished with 7.5 points from 12 games to lead all scorers. Abdusattorov collected rapid wins over Dominguez and So, then added blitz victories against Nakamura, Caruana, and Dominguez. Uzbekistan equalized the overall score twice during Tuesday's blitz phase before USA pulled away by winning rounds six and seven decisively.

Wesley So praised the opposition after the match. "Sindarov's talent is limitless, and so is his potential," So said. "The same can be said about Nodirbek — the first Nodirbek."

All USA players except Dominguez (1.5 points from 7 games) finished with positive individual scores, and that collective consistency proved decisive in the team format. Caruana went undefeated through the rapid section with four draws.

The match doubled as preparation for the Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in September. Three of the USA players — Caruana, So, and Aronian — are Olympiad-bound, while Hans Niemann and Awonder Liang will replace Nakamura and Dominguez on the Olympiad roster, according to ChessBase.

Sindarov's blitz rating jumped from 2680 to 2715.6 after the Miami event, vaulting him from 33rd to 16th in the world blitz rankings. His next match carries even higher stakes: a World Chess Championship bout against Gukesh in Geneva.