Vaishali, Lagno Lead After Draw In FIDE Women's Grand Swiss Round 4

Last Updated:September 07, 2025, 23:43 IST

R Vaishali and Kateryna Lagno lead the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss after four rounds. In the Open, Parham Maghsoodloo tops with 3.5 points. Vidit Gujrathi returns to contention.

Indian Grandmaster R Vaishali (X)

Grandmaster R Vaishali maintained her lead after drawing with Germany’s Dinara Wagner. However, she was joined by Russia’s Kateryna Lagno at the top following the conclusion of the fourth round of the FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss on Sunday.

Lagno secured a victory against China’s Yuxin Song with white pieces, setting up a crucial fifth-round match against Vaishali, who will play with white pieces.

In her game against Dinara, defending champion Vaishali showed intent by opting for the Grunfeld defense but couldn’t make significant progress with black pieces. The German’s preparation was flawless, and her early rook-for-bishop sacrifice limited Vaishali’s chances. The middle game saw the queens traded without providing Vaishali any clear advantage, leading to a fair draw.

In the Open section, top seed R Praggnanandhaa was held to a draw by the world’s youngest Grandmaster, Abhimanyu Mishra of the United States. Praggnanandhaa nearly secured a win but Mishra’s strong resistance made a draw possible. Although Praggnanandhaa had an extra pawn in the rook-and-minor-pieces endgame, converting it into a full point was challenging. Mishra achieved a fortress-like position, resulting in a draw after 57 moves.

In an all-Indian clash, world champion D Gukesh drew with Arjun Erigaisi, who displayed excellent preparation with black pieces. Despite Gukesh’s optical advantage, Erigaisi neutralised it with timely exchanges, leading to a knights-and-pawns endgame and a draw after 46 moves.

With seven rounds remaining in the world’s strongest Swiss tournament, Parham Maghsoodloo of Iran retained his half-point lead, reaching 3.5 points after a hard-fought draw with local hero Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

Defending Open section champion Vidit Gujrathi returned to contention with a victory over Ukraine’s veteran Vasyl Ivanchuk. Vidit, Erigaisi, Gukesh, and Praggnanandhaa share the second spot with three points, along with Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Yakubboev and Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Hungary’s Richard Rapport, Germany’s Matthias Bluebaum, Switzerland’s Nikita Vitiugov, and Turkish prodigy Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus.

Besides a prize fund of USD 855,000, there are two spots available in both the Open and women’s sections for the 2026 Candidates tournament.

(With agency inputs)

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