R Vaishali Shares Candidates 2026 Women's Lead With Last Round To Go

Last Updated:April 15, 2026, 07:50 IST

Javokhir Sindarov wins Candidates open to face D Gukesh for world title, womens race tight as R Vaishali and Bibisara Assaubayeva share lead before final round

Indian Grandmaster R Vaishali remained in contention for the top prize by drawing with China’s Zhongyi Tan, even as Bibisara Assaubayeva blew the title race wide open with a splendid victory over Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk in the penultimate round of the women’s Candidates chess tournament on Tuesday.

Uzbekistan’s 20-year-old Javokhir Sindarov won the open section with a round to spare, as Anish Giri of Holland could not dent his confidence in what has perhaps been the greatest performance in the history of the Candidates.

Sindarov, on 9.5 points, has already been crowned champion, earning the right to challenge India’s D Gukesh for the World Chess Championship title later this year.

Sindarov still enjoys a healthy two-point lead over his nearest rival, Giri.

On a day that featured four draws, R Praggnanandhaa also agreed to a truce with Fabiano Caruana of the United States, and the Indian remained in seventh place in the eight-player tournament.

Caruana is a distant third on 6.5 points, followed by Matthias Bluebaum of Germany, compatriot Hikaru Nakamura and Wei Yi of China, who all have 6 points apiece. Praggnanandhaa comes next on 5.5, followed by Andrey Esipenko, as the field waits for the tournament to conclude.

Tight Race In Women’s Section

The women’s section is tightly packed at the top, with Vaishali and Assaubayeva sharing the lead on 7.5 points. The Kazakh player has been in great form in the last couple of games, and it remains to be seen if she can replicate that in the final round.

Meanwhile, Aleksandra Goryachkina produced a splendid effort to beat China’s Jiner Zhu.

Vaishali will take on Kateryna Lagno in her 14th and final-round game on Wednesday, while Bibisara will face Divya Deshmukh.

Candidates 2026 – Results Round 13:

Women: Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kaz, 7.5) beat Anna Muzychuk (Ukr, 6.5); Kateryna Lagno (Rus, 6.5) beat Divya Deshmukh (Ind, 5); Tan Zhongyi (Chn, 5.5) drew with R Vaishali (Ind, 7.5); Zhu Jiner (Chn 7) lost to Aleksandra Goryachkina (Rus, 6.5).

Open: Wei Yi (Chn, 6) drew with Andrey Esipenko (Rus, 5); Anish Giri (Ned, 7.5) drew with Javokhir Sindarov (Uzb, 9.5); Hikaru Nakamura (Usa,6) drew with Matthias Bluebaum (Ger, 6); Fabiano Caruana (Usa, 6.5) drew with R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 5.5).

(With inputs from Agencies)

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