R Vaishali vs Divya Deshmukh (Photo: Yoav Nis) NEW DELHI: The second round of FIDE Candidates 2026 began with an air of royalty on Monday. Five-time World Champion and FIDE Vice President Viswanathan Anand stepped up to the board of Divya Deshmukh and Vaishali Rameshbabu to perform the ceremonial first step.It was a fitting start to a clash between two of India’s brightest talents in a round that many expected would break the opening day deadlock.However, resilience rather than breakthrough proved to be the theme of the day. Across both the Open and Women’s categories at the Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort in Paphos, Cyprus, every match ended in a draw.
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Exclusive Nihal Sarin: 2026 Candidates Predictions, Anish Giri’s ‘Drawish’ Label & More #chess While the Open section caught its breath after a volatile Day 1, the women’s section remained the territory of the peace treaties, with all eight games of the tournament played so far ending in a tie.Game of the Day: Divya Deshmukh Vs R VaishaliThe highlight of the afternoon was undoubtedly the All India battle between Divya and Vaishali. By playing the white pieces, Divya built up a significant advantage in the Queen’s Gambit Declined setup and reached a position that appeared to be a forced win.“In the women’s section, just like the first round, all the games ended in a draw,” veteran grandmaster Pravin Thipsay told TimesofIndia.com after the day’s play. “But the games were quite interesting; they weren’t simple or monotonous. For example, Divya versus Vaishali. Divya was pushing on the queen side, but on move 34, instead of playing the normal 34…b5, which would have led to an obvious draw, Vaishali decided to exchange knights with 34…Ne4.”This decision by Vaishali was a double-edged sword that almost failed, but also set the stage for the most dramatic sequence of the tournament so far.“This move could have been really dangerous because after that the position was a forced win for Divya,” Thipsay noted. “But Divya fell for the trap. Vaishali set a very clever trap. On move 37, Divya could have played Qg4, exchanged queens, and kept the extra pawn with an absolutely winning position. Instead, she chose Qg3 to try to capture Vaishali’s queen.”It was a fatal miscalculation. Vaishali calculated a spectacular resource that immediately turned the tables.“When Divya thought she was going to win the queen, Vaishali came up with a brilliant queen sacrifice: 40…Qxh3+. She must have seen it quite a few moves back. Divya had to return her queen to the knight fork, which led to a drawn rook that ended up with no real chance,” added Thipsay.“Vaishali’s 40th move must have been planned before her 34th move. It was a deep hand and Divya must have missed the sacrifice when she played 37.Qg3.”Strategic phase in the open sectionIn the Open category, Sunday’s fireworks were replaced by a relaxation phase. After his clinical victory over Anish Giri, R Praggnanandhaa switched to the black pieces against China’s Wei Yi. Playing for the French defense. Pragg, the core of his recent repertoire, had a very slight edge, but Wei Yi’s simplistic approach ensured the game never got out of hand.“The second day in the open section produced some boring games,” noted Thipsay. “I think the players just generally assessed the style and strength of the other participants. For example, Wei Yi didn’t play the most challenging variation against Praggnanandhaa’s French defense. Black had a very slight advantage early and even Pragg had an extra pawn at the end, but it was no use.”Elsewhere, Hikaru Nakamura found himself in a defensive grind against Andrey Esipenko. Despite being a pawn down, Nakamura used his endgame knowledge to salvage a theoretical draw.“Hikaru Nakamura struggled but the game was a theoretical draw,” said Thipsay. “Esipenko has a good understanding of strategy, but he lacks calculation and tactics. If Hikaru knows the process, it’s a pretty easy draw.”As the tournament moves into Round 3, the Open Section rankings remain crowded at the top. Javokhir Sindarov, Fabiano Caruana and R Praggnanandhaa are all at 1.5/2, following their opening wins with solid draws.“There are already three people leading by one and a half points,” concluded Thipsay. “I think the players are looking at the first half as something that will play steady. The desperate game will probably come in the second half. Praggnanandhaa and Caruana seem to have a good lead. After five more games of this first half, we will have a much better idea.”
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FIDE Candidates Round 2 Results – March 30, 2026Open the sectionAndrey Esipenko 0.5-0.5 Hikaru NakamuraAnish Giri 0.5-0.5 Fabiano CaruanaWei Yi 0.5-0.5 R ExerciseJavokhir Sindarov 0.5-0.5 Matthias BlübaumWomen’s sectionAnna Muzychuk 0.5-0.5 Tan ZhongyiKateryna Lagno 0.5-0.5 Zhu JinerBibisara Assaubayeva 0.5-0.5 Aleksandr GoryachkinDivya Deshmukh 0.5-0.5 Vaishali RameshbabuRound 3 Pairings – March 31, 2026OPEN: Blübaum vs Espenko; Praggnanandhaa vs Sindarov; Caruana vs Wei Yi; Nakamura vs Giri.Women: Vaishali vs Muzychuk; Goryachkina vs Divya; Zhu Jiner vs Assaubayeva; Tan Zhongyi vs Lagno.
