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#Vaishali #Tan #Zhongyi #LIVE #FIDE #Candidates #tournament #updates">R Vaishali vs Tan Zhongyi LIVE: FIDE Candidates tournament 2026 Round 13 updates R Vaishali will aim for a victory against Chinese GM Tan Zhongyi on Tuesday. She was defeated by Zhu Jiner in Round 12, and both players currently share the top spot with 7 points heading into the final rounds of the competition.
R Vaishali vs Tan Zhongyi board updates
Where to watch FIDE Candidates 2026?
The FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 will be streamed live on the FIDE YouTube channel.
Published on Apr 15, 2026
R Vaishali will aim for a victory against Chinese GM Tan Zhongyi on Tuesday. She…
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#Deadspin #Penguins #prepare #playoffs #season #finale #Blues">Deadspin | Penguins prepare for playoffs with season finale vs. Blues
Apr 12, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) covers Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) in the final minute during the third period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images The Pittsburgh Penguins are locked into second place in the Metropolitan Division and know who they’ll play in the first round of the playoffs.
That said, they still have some areas to clean up heading into their regular-season finale on Tuesday night against the host St. Louis Blues.
The Penguins will host their in-state rival, the Philadelphia Flyers, in the first round beginning later this week, but they don’t plan to stroll through their matchup against St. Louis.
“It’s going to be important to finish off the regular season the right way,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse said. “I’d love to do that with a win.”
The Penguins (41-24-16, 98 points) lost their past two games, a home-and-home series against the Washington Capitals.
Pittsburgh got shut out 3-0 in Washington on Sunday, but Muse thought his team played better in the second game after losing 6-3 at home on Saturday.
“Opportunities for rebounds were there,” Muse said. “We were able to generate some good looks, too. Their guy played well, so that’s part of the game as well. It was better than (Saturday), but still some things we’ve got to take away and make sure that we’re cleaning up.”
Muse definitely would like to see some pucks go in the net before the playoffs begin.
“Going off of (Saturday), I felt like we weren’t in the offensive zone very much and it’s a credit to (the Capitals),” Muse said. “I thought we did a better job of getting and spending some more time there, I think. Even still, some opportunities to shoot more pucks, get pucks into the net front area.”
Pittsburgh will have home-ice advantage against the Flyers in the first-round series.
“We’ve got a work week now, too, where we’ll be able to get a couple good practice days before Game 1,” Muse said. “There will definitely be some areas we can continue to work on and just make sure we’re feeling good about all parts of our game.”
The Penguins played without forwards Noel Acciari (upper body), Anthony Mantha (lower body) and Ben Kindel (upper body) as well as defensemen Ryan Shea (upper body) and Connor Clifton (upper body). Each is day to day.
The Blues, who are coming off a 6-3 win at the Minnesota Wild on Monday, will conclude their disappointing season on Thursday at the Utah Mammoth.
St. Louis (35-33-12, 82 points) stayed in the Western Conference playoff race up until Saturday. Despite beating the Chicago Blackhawks, 5-3, the Blues were eliminated when the Los Angeles Kings recorded a 1-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
It’s the third time in the past four years that St. Louis will miss the playoffs.
The Blues have faced scoring issues most of the season, both at even strength and with the man-advantage.
They are averaging 2.73 goals per game, which ranks 28th in the league this season, Their 17.5% success rate on the power plays ranks 27th.
“It could be hard to come out in these games when you’re eliminated and they’re sitting nine regulars and it has that feel to it,” Blues forward Jake Neighbours said. “But, you’ve got to find a way as a player to come out with a little more energy and passion and play for the fans and play for the logo.”
–Field Level Media
Apr 12, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) covers Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) in the final minute during the third period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images The Pittsburgh Penguins are locked into second place in the Metropolitan Division and know who they’ll play in the first round of the playoffs.
That said, they still have some areas to clean up heading into their regular-season finale on Tuesday night against the host St. Louis Blues.
The Penguins will host their in-state rival, the Philadelphia Flyers, in the first round beginning later this week, but they don’t plan to stroll through their matchup against St. Louis.
“It’s going to be important to finish off the regular season the right way,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse said. “I’d love to do that with a win.”
The Penguins (41-24-16, 98 points) lost their past two games, a home-and-home series against the Washington Capitals.
Pittsburgh got shut out 3-0 in Washington on Sunday, but Muse thought his team played better in the second game after losing 6-3 at home on Saturday.
“Opportunities for rebounds were there,” Muse said. “We were able to generate some good looks, too. Their guy played well, so that’s part of the game as well. It was better than (Saturday), but still some things we’ve got to take away and make sure that we’re cleaning up.”
Muse definitely would like to see some pucks go in the net before the playoffs begin.
“Going off of (Saturday), I felt like we weren’t in the offensive zone very much and it’s a credit to (the Capitals),” Muse said. “I thought we did a better job of getting and spending some more time there, I think. Even still, some opportunities to shoot more pucks, get pucks into the net front area.”
Pittsburgh will have home-ice advantage against the Flyers in the first-round series.
“We’ve got a work week now, too, where we’ll be able to get a couple good practice days before Game 1,” Muse said. “There will definitely be some areas we can continue to work on and just make sure we’re feeling good about all parts of our game.”
The Penguins played without forwards Noel Acciari (upper body), Anthony Mantha (lower body) and Ben Kindel (upper body) as well as defensemen Ryan Shea (upper body) and Connor Clifton (upper body). Each is day to day.
The Blues, who are coming off a 6-3 win at the Minnesota Wild on Monday, will conclude their disappointing season on Thursday at the Utah Mammoth.
St. Louis (35-33-12, 82 points) stayed in the Western Conference playoff race up until Saturday. Despite beating the Chicago Blackhawks, 5-3, the Blues were eliminated when the Los Angeles Kings recorded a 1-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
It’s the third time in the past four years that St. Louis will miss the playoffs.
The Blues have faced scoring issues most of the season, both at even strength and with the man-advantage.
They are averaging 2.73 goals per game, which ranks 28th in the league this season, Their 17.5% success rate on the power plays ranks 27th.
“It could be hard to come out in these games when you’re eliminated and they’re sitting nine regulars and it has that feel to it,” Blues forward Jake Neighbours said. “But, you’ve got to find a way as a player to come out with a little more energy and passion and play for the fans and play for the logo.”
–Field Level Media
Apr 12, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) covers Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) in the final minute during the third period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images The Pittsburgh Penguins are locked into second place in the Metropolitan Division and know who they’ll play in the first round of the playoffs.
That said, they still have some areas to clean up heading into their regular-season finale on Tuesday night against the host St. Louis Blues.
The Penguins will host their in-state rival, the Philadelphia Flyers, in the first round beginning later this week, but they don’t plan to stroll through their matchup against St. Louis.
“It’s going to be important to finish off the regular season the right way,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse said. “I’d love to do that with a win.”
The Penguins (41-24-16, 98 points) lost their past two games, a home-and-home series against the Washington Capitals.
Pittsburgh got shut out 3-0 in Washington on Sunday, but Muse thought his team played better in the second game after losing 6-3 at home on Saturday.
“Opportunities for rebounds were there,” Muse said. “We were able to generate some good looks, too. Their guy played well, so that’s part of the game as well. It was better than (Saturday), but still some things we’ve got to take away and make sure that we’re cleaning up.”
Muse definitely would like to see some pucks go in the net before the playoffs begin.
“Going off of (Saturday), I felt like we weren’t in the offensive zone very much and it’s a credit to (the Capitals),” Muse said. “I thought we did a better job of getting and spending some more time there, I think. Even still, some opportunities to shoot more pucks, get pucks into the net front area.”
Pittsburgh will have home-ice advantage against the Flyers in the first-round series.
“We’ve got a work week now, too, where we’ll be able to get a couple good practice days before Game 1,” Muse said. “There will definitely be some areas we can continue to work on and just make sure we’re feeling good about all parts of our game.”
The Penguins played without forwards Noel Acciari (upper body), Anthony Mantha (lower body) and Ben Kindel (upper body) as well as defensemen Ryan Shea (upper body) and Connor Clifton (upper body). Each is day to day.
The Blues, who are coming off a 6-3 win at the Minnesota Wild on Monday, will conclude their disappointing season on Thursday at the Utah Mammoth.
St. Louis (35-33-12, 82 points) stayed in the Western Conference playoff race up until Saturday. Despite beating the Chicago Blackhawks, 5-3, the Blues were eliminated when the Los Angeles Kings recorded a 1-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.
It’s the third time in the past four years that St. Louis will miss the playoffs.
The Blues have faced scoring issues most of the season, both at even strength and with the man-advantage.
They are averaging 2.73 goals per game, which ranks 28th in the league this season, Their 17.5% success rate on the power plays ranks 27th.
“It could be hard to come out in these games when you’re eliminated and they’re sitting nine regulars and it has that feel to it,” Blues forward Jake Neighbours said. “But, you’ve got to find a way as a player to come out with a little more energy and passion and play for the fans and play for the logo.”
–Field Level Media
Apr 12, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8)…
A new story from ESPN on the rise of the Hornets this season put Melo’s impact on the team into full focus, especially when it came to the team finding their missing piece. Charlotte seemingly had shooters with their nucleus of Ball and Brandon Miller, but when LaMelo was asked by GM Jeff Peterson about the player in the 2025 class that he liked, there was only one answer.
Although Cooper Flagg was the consensus can’t-miss prospect, Ball was talking up Kon Knueppel to the Hornets GM. Ball had watched Duke play during the season and told Peterson how savvy he thought the forward was. He was struck by Knueppel’s basketball IQ and understanding of the game — impressive even for a five-star prospect. And of course, there was Knueppel’s elite shooting.
This discussion happened before the NBA Draft lottery took place, without Charlotte knowing they would be picking 4th overall. The 19-63 Hornets had the third-worst record in the NBA, which gave them the identical 14% chance to land the top pick as the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards. Despite all this Knueppel was the player that Ball couldn’t stop talking about.
“He’s spot on with those traits,” Peterson told ESPN of that break-of-dawn draft breakdown. “He was very detailed in his evaluation of why he liked him. That was even more impressive that he was able to kind of highlight him because there were some other guys that he didn’t highlight.
“He may have a future in the front office if he wants.”
The Hornets improved to 44-38 this season, good enough to make the NBA Play-In Tournament, and Knueppel is a mammoth reason why. His lights out shooting, and veteran-level ability to play off the screen has paired perfectly with a healthy Ball and Miller this season to transform Charlotte into one of the NBA’s hottest teams, and a legitimate nightmare matchup should they manage to make it through to the playoffs and face a top seed.
It’s impossible to know what the Hornets would have looked like had they landed the No. 1 pick and Flagg. There is no question that Flagg has the superstar ability to take over the league and become a legitimate top player in the NBA, but it’s unclear if he would have been a good fit alongside Ball and Miller. Meanwhile, Knueppel’s team-first, unselfish play has allowed Charlotte to flourish with perimeter shooting, stretching the floor, and morphing from a spot-up shooter early in the season, to now being a threat that has to be accounted for, opening up passing lanes for LaMelo Ball.
All in all, Kon Knueppel to Charlotte has been a match made in basketball heaven, and the Hornets are now a team to watch in the East for 2026-27, regardless of what happens in the postseason. LaMelo Ball is a huge part of that for identifying the Duke forward and helping to turn everything around.
Sports news
LaMelo Ball has been a lightning rod for criticism throughout his NBA career due to his loose play, seemingly unserious attitude, and deservedly for his dangerous driving. One thing that has been a total myth is his lack of basketball IQ, because inside of his floaty, street ball style is a guy who really understands ball.
A new story from ESPN on the rise of the Hornets this season put Melo’s impact on the team into full focus, especially when it came to the team finding their missing piece. Charlotte seemingly had shooters with their nucleus of Ball and Brandon Miller, but when LaMelo was asked by GM Jeff Peterson about the player in the 2025 class that he liked, there was only one answer.
Although Cooper Flagg was the consensus can’t-miss prospect, Ball was talking up Kon Knueppel to the Hornets GM. Ball had watched Duke play during the season and told Peterson how savvy he thought the forward was. He was struck by Knueppel’s basketball IQ and understanding of the game — impressive even for a five-star prospect. And of course, there was Knueppel’s elite shooting.
This discussion happened before the NBA Draft lottery took place, without Charlotte knowing they would be picking 4th overall. The 19-63 Hornets had the third-worst record in the NBA, which gave them the identical 14% chance to land the top pick as the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards. Despite all this Knueppel was the player that Ball couldn’t stop talking about.
“He’s spot on with those traits,” Peterson told ESPN of that break-of-dawn draft breakdown. “He was very detailed in his evaluation of why he liked him. That was even more impressive that he was able to kind of highlight him because there were some other guys that he didn’t highlight.
“He may have a future in the front office if he wants.”
The Hornets improved to 44-38 this season, good enough to make the NBA Play-In Tournament, and Knueppel is a mammoth reason why. His lights out shooting, and veteran-level ability to play off the screen has paired perfectly with a healthy Ball and Miller this season to transform Charlotte into one of the NBA’s hottest teams, and a legitimate nightmare matchup should they manage to make it through to the playoffs and face a top seed.
It’s impossible to know what the Hornets would have looked like had they landed the No. 1 pick and Flagg. There is no question that Flagg has the superstar ability to take over the league and become a legitimate top player in the NBA, but it’s unclear if he would have been a good fit alongside Ball and Miller. Meanwhile, Knueppel’s team-first, unselfish play has allowed Charlotte to flourish with perimeter shooting, stretching the floor, and morphing from a spot-up shooter early in the season, to now being a threat that has to be accounted for, opening up passing lanes for LaMelo Ball.
All in all, Kon Knueppel to Charlotte has been a match made in basketball heaven, and the Hornets are now a team to watch in the East for 2026-27, regardless of what happens in the postseason. LaMelo Ball is a huge part of that for identifying the Duke forward and helping to turn everything around.
LaMelo Ball has been a lightning rod for criticism throughout his NBA career due to his loose play, seemingly unserious attitude, and deservedly for his dangerous driving. One thing that has been a total myth is his lack of basketball IQ, because inside of his floaty, street ball style is a guy who really understands ball.
A new story from ESPN on the rise of the Hornets this season put Melo’s impact on the team into full focus, especially when it came to the team finding their missing piece. Charlotte seemingly had shooters with their nucleus of Ball and Brandon Miller, but when LaMelo was asked by GM Jeff Peterson about the player in the 2025 class that he liked, there was only one answer.
Although Cooper Flagg was the consensus can’t-miss prospect, Ball was talking up Kon Knueppel to the Hornets GM. Ball had watched Duke play during the season and told Peterson how savvy he thought the forward was. He was struck by Knueppel’s basketball IQ and understanding of the game — impressive even for a five-star prospect. And of course, there was Knueppel’s elite shooting.
This discussion happened before the NBA Draft lottery took place, without Charlotte knowing they would be picking 4th overall. The 19-63 Hornets had the third-worst record in the NBA, which gave them the identical 14% chance to land the top pick as the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards. Despite all this Knueppel was the player that Ball couldn’t stop talking about.
“He’s spot on with those traits,” Peterson told ESPN of that break-of-dawn draft breakdown. “He was very detailed in his evaluation of why he liked him. That was even more impressive that he was able to kind of highlight him because there were some other guys that he didn’t highlight.
“He may have a future in the front office if he wants.”
The Hornets improved to 44-38 this season, good enough to make the NBA Play-In Tournament, and Knueppel is a mammoth reason why. His lights out shooting, and veteran-level ability to play off the screen has paired perfectly with a healthy Ball and Miller this season to transform Charlotte into one of the NBA’s hottest teams, and a legitimate nightmare matchup should they manage to make it through to the playoffs and face a top seed.
It’s impossible to know what the Hornets would have looked like had they landed the No. 1 pick and Flagg. There is no question that Flagg has the superstar ability to take over the league and become a legitimate top player in the NBA, but it’s unclear if he would have been a good fit alongside Ball and Miller. Meanwhile, Knueppel’s team-first, unselfish play has allowed Charlotte to flourish with perimeter shooting, stretching the floor, and morphing from a spot-up shooter early in the season, to now being a threat that has to be accounted for, opening up passing lanes for LaMelo Ball.
All in all, Kon Knueppel to Charlotte has been a match made in basketball heaven, and the Hornets are now a team to watch in the East for 2026-27, regardless of what happens in the postseason. LaMelo Ball is a huge part of that for identifying the Duke forward and helping to turn everything around.
LaMelo Ball has been a lightning rod for criticism throughout his NBA career due to…
