FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026, Round 7: Vaishali registers second consecutive win, Praggnanandhaa draws with CaruanaGrandmaster R Vaishali made something out of nothing, and in style, bagging full points to move to four out of seven after defeating Tan Zhongyi in a game that had been heading towards a draw until the middlegame. The win lifts Vaishali to second in the standings, behind leader Anna Muzychuk.
Zhongyi’s blunder in the sequence around moves 36 to 38 — Rc6, Kg7, Ra1 — ensured Vaishali walked away with the full point. Zhongyi began pushing pawns on the flank instead of consolidating her king position, and one of Vaishali’s key moments came on move 38 with Rxf6, winning a pawn and opening lines towards the black king.
Zhongyi then erred further with Kxf6, exposing her king without a pawn shield. Vaishali’s rooks and king coordinated better thereafter, as she built up activity and converted the advantage, forcing Zhongyi to resign.
ALSO READ: Praggnanandhaa very much in contention for Candidates title: chess coach Shyam Sundar
In the women’s section, Muzychuk held on to her lead with 4.5 points after drawing against Bibisara and Zhu Jiner was held to a draw by Aleksandra Goryachkina.
In the open section, R Praggnanandhaa once again pushed for a result but eventually settled for a threefold-repetition draw against Fabiano Caruana.
Earlier in the day, Hikaru Nakamura, enduring a difficult tournament, drew against Matthias Bluebaum.
Anish Giri finally held Javokhir Sindarov to a draw, bringing an end to Sindarov’s winning run. Despite the result, Sindarov continues to lead the open section with six points from seven rounds heading into the rest day on Monday.
China’s Wei Yi defeated Andrey Esipenko.
Published on Apr 05, 2026
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Grandmaster R Vaishali made something out of nothing, and in style, bagging full points to move to four out of seven after defeating Tan Zhongyi in a game that had been heading towards a draw until the middlegame. The win lifts Vaishali to second in the standings, behind leader Anna Muzychuk.
Zhongyi’s blunder in the sequence around moves 36 to 38 — Rc6, Kg7, Ra1 — ensured Vaishali walked away with the full point. Zhongyi began pushing pawns on the flank instead of consolidating her king position, and one of Vaishali’s key moments came on move 38 with Rxf6, winning a pawn and opening lines towards the black king.
Zhongyi then erred further with Kxf6, exposing her king without a pawn shield. Vaishali’s rooks and king coordinated better thereafter, as she built up activity and converted the advantage, forcing Zhongyi to resign.
ALSO READ: Praggnanandhaa very much in contention for Candidates title: chess coach Shyam Sundar
In the women’s section, Muzychuk held on to her lead with 4.5 points after drawing against Bibisara and Zhu Jiner was held to a draw by Aleksandra Goryachkina.
In the open section, R Praggnanandhaa once again pushed for a result but eventually settled for a threefold-repetition draw against Fabiano Caruana.
Earlier in the day, Hikaru Nakamura, enduring a difficult tournament, drew against Matthias Bluebaum.
Anish Giri finally held Javokhir Sindarov to a draw, bringing an end to Sindarov’s winning run. Despite the result, Sindarov continues to lead the open section with six points from seven rounds heading into the rest day on Monday.
China’s Wei Yi defeated Andrey Esipenko.
Published on Apr 05, 2026
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