Candidates Chess: India's R Vaishali takes sole lead with four rounds to go | Chess News - The Tech Word News

R Vaishali (photo by Niki Riga) NEW DELHI: As the FIDE 2026 contenders in Cyprus head into a much-needed rest day, India’s Vaishali Rameshbabu has emerged as the woman to beat.Despite drawing in the 10th round, the 24-year-old broke away from the pack to become the only table in the women’s section, which certainly felt like a breath of fresh air in a tournament that has seen mixed fortunes for the Indian contingent across the open and women’s sections.

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Exclusive Nihal Sarin: 2026 Candidates Predictions, Anish Giri’s ‘Drawish’ Label & More #chess Only four laps to go and the Mediterranean air thickens with tension. While Vaishali takes the sole lead in the women’s section by 6/10 points, the cushion is paper-thin and the technical fragility of her compatriots, notably Praggnanandhaa in the open and Divya Deshmukh in the women’s category, means India’s challenge hangs in the balance.Vaishali’s Great Escape; Divya collapses at the end of the gameFacing Anna Muzychuk, who has maintained commendable form in the ongoing campaign, Vaishali showed maturity beyond her years with black figures.Seasoned grandmaster Pravin Thipsay, who analyzed the game for TimesofIndia.com, noted, “Vaishali played a safe but active game against Muzychuk. The position remained almost even throughout. Vaishali settled comfortably with the black pieces and drew in 42 moves, taking her to six points.”For 20-year-old Divya Deshmukh, the news was less celebratory.In a grueling encounter with Russia’s Aleksandra Gorjachkina, the knight’s retreat became fatal. According to 66-year-old Thipsay, Divya made a crucial mistake by moving her knight from c4 to b2 on her 58th move.“She was hoping for a pawn exchange on the other side, which never happened,” Thipsay noted. “Had she played 58. Ne5+ or maybe Ne3, she would have maintained a reasonable chance of the draw. With this loss, Divya is likely to be out of the championship race.”Praggnanandhaa’s novelty failsIn the open section, R Praggnanandha’s campaign suffered another setback from Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov.Despite introducing a theoretical novelty with 17.h3, a move that Thipsay described as an engine move that initially gave Black the advantage, the Indian prodigy failed to keep pace.“Praggnanandhaa really played a theoretical novelty with 17.h3. It’s a new, engine-recommended move that gives Black a slightly better position. Sindarov took a sharp variation in which White sacrifices a piece for a kingside attack, but Praggnanandhaa initially found the right way to equalize,” explained Thipsay.“However, he did not follow through on the idea behind the move. His 19th and 21st moves were inaccurate, allowing Sindarov to gain sufficient compensation and a slightly better position.”The game turned into a one-sided affair after the move 22…Bd7“The major turning point came on move 22. Instead of playing 22.Be6 and staying slightly worse, Praggnanandhaa chose 22.Bd7, a blunder that lost the queen and bishop two rooks,” explained Thipsay. “It was caused by Sindar’s earlier piece sacrifice and the players got into a queen versus double rook ending… Sindar’s queen captured almost all of Praggnanandhaa’s pawns.With this win, Sindarov, now on 8/10 points, has established a massive two point lead over his nearest rival Anish Giri. And with that, he now looks increasingly likely to secure the right to challenge D Gukesh at the World Cup later this year.FIDE Candidates Round 10 Results – April 9, 2026Open the section