R Praggnanandhaa (Photo: Yoav Nis) NEW DELHI: You read that right. R Praggnanandhaa, India’s sole representative in the Open section, probably missed the best opportunity to win a second time in the Candidates Tournament at the Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort on Friday. The 2741-rated Grandmaster preferred to settle for a lackluster draw, his third of the tournament.After the 5th round, the leaderboard paints an impressive picture for the race participants. Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov stamped his authority on the court, winning four of his five matches and drawing the other. However, with nine rounds to go, it is still too early to judge whether his remarkable run will translate into a contender title and earn him the right to challenge reigning champion D Gukesh for the world title later this year.
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Exclusive Nihal Sarin: 2026 Candidates Predictions, Anish Giri’s ‘Drawish’ Label & More #chess In such a scenario, players like Praggnanandhaa have to take chances to win to stay within touch of the leader. Friday offered one such opportunity. Facing Andrey Esipenko, who remains a soul without a win in the tournament, the Indian had the advantage of playing with white pieces, which gave him the initiative to move first and dictate the course of the game.Espenko, rated 2698 and known for occasional inaccuracies under pressure, is among the lower-rated players in the elite eight grandmasters. Praggnanandhaa, playing with White on the back of a rest day, seemed well placed before the first move, especially against an opponent who many see as a weak link in the fight.As soon as the game started, the 20-year-old opted for the Réti Opening. On move 10, both players exchanged knights and pawns. Praggnanandhaa’s 12.Ba6 was followed by a retreat to 19.Bd3, indicating a lack of clear prospects for an attack. It was particularly surprising to see Praggnanandhaa try to make any meaningful breakthrough, given his reputation as one of the most incisive attacking players on the white-piece circuit.With neither side able to create meaningful breakthroughs either on the flanks or in the middle, the game quickly settled into the balance.The first exchanges remained the only significant material trades and with little imbalance on the board, neither player pushed for complications.In the end, a triple replay meant that the game ended in a draw after 31 moves, a result that will feel like a missed opportunity for a player of Praggnanandha’s ilk.FIDE Candidates Round 5 Results – April 3, 2026
- R Praggnanandhaa 0.5-0.5 Andrey Espipenko
- Fabiano Caruana 1-0 Matthias Blubaum
- Hikaru Nakamura 0-1 Javokhir Sindarov
- Anish Giri 0.5-0.5 Wei Yi
Pairing of FIDE Candidates Round 6 – April 4, 2026
- Fabiano Caruana vs. Andrey Espipenko
- Hikaru Nakamura vs. R Praggnanandhaa
- Anish Giri Vs. Matthias Blübaum
- Wei Yi vs. Javokhir Sindarov
The situation was more complicated for his elder sister Vaishali Rameshbaba, who suffered her first defeat in the women’s campaign against China’s Zhu Yiner.Playing with the black pieces, Vaishali faced a kingside pawn opening that soon carried over to the Italian game.She opted for a two-knight defense, a system she had played in the previous round against Aleksandra Goryachkina, although Vaishali was then with white pieces.This time, Zhu gradually applied pressure, advancing on the queen side while improving the coordination of the pieces in the center. Two minor inaccuracies from Vaishali (15…f5 and 16…Nc5) weakened her position and allowed Zhu to gain a slight but lasting advantage.As the pieces gradually changed, Vaishali’s king was increasingly exposed in the center, especially after 27.Ke6.While the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss winner did not make any major mistakes, the position became increasingly difficult to defend. With Zhu maintaining better coordination and king security, Vaishali was eventually forced to resign on turn 62.Meanwhile, Divya Deshmukh, another Indian in the women’s section, held Tan Zhongyi to a hard-fought draw with the black pieces. The game, Queen’s Gambit Declined, lasted 45 moves and featured significantly more activity than Praggnanandhaa’s Open Section encounter.Divya tried to create an imbalance through active rook, knight and queen maneuvers in the middle game and pressured Tan’s position. However, as neither side was able to turn their chances into a decisive breakthrough, the players finally agreed to split the point. Given the strength of her opponent and her previous round defeat against Zhu Jiner, the draw will serve as a morale-boosting result for the young Indian.READ ALSO: R Praggnanandhaa is the invisible second: Creation of Vaibhav SuriResults of the 5th round of FIDE Women’s Candidates – April 4, 2026
- Aleksandra Goryachkina 0.5-0.5 Anna Muzychuk
- Zhu Jiner 1-0 Vaishali Rameshbabu
- Tan Zhongyi 0.5-0.5 Divya Deshmukh
- Kateryna Lagno 1-0 Bibisara Assaubayeva
Pairs of FIDE 6th round candidates – April 4, 2026
- Zhu Jiner vs. Anna Muzychuk
- Tan Zhongyi vs. Alexander Goryachkin
- Kateryna Lagno vs. Vaishali Rameshbabu
- Bibisara Assaubayeva vs. Divya Deshmukh
