Welcome to Sportstar’s coverage of the fourteenth round of the FIDE Candidates 2026 tournament happening in Cyprus on Wednesday.
R Praggnanandhaa (White) vs Hikaru Nakamura (Black)
R Vaishali (White) vs Lagno Kateryna (Black)
Divya Deshmukh (White) vs Bibisara Assaubayeva (Black)
April 15, 2026 17:59
Does Zhu Jiner have a chance
Anna Muzychuk, who entered the tournament as a replacement for Koneru Humpy, will take on Zhu Jiner, who is in title contention.
April 15, 2026 17:51
Will Sindarov’s help propel Bibisara to the World Title
April 15, 2026 17:48
Vishy Anand’s pick
In a video posted by FIDE, five-time World Champion, GM Viswanathan Anand was seen picking D Gukesh over Javokhir Sindarov for the World Chess Championship title.
April 15, 2026 17:46
FIDE Grand Swiss 2027 will take place in Isle of Man
April 15, 2026 17:44
Divya Deshmukh vs Bibisara
Divya takes on Bibisara and aims for a victory to end her campaign on a good note, and her win could also help Vaishali win the title today.
April 15, 2026 17:41
Read how Vaishali can win the title today
R Vaishali in FIDE Women’s Candidates 2026: Full title scenarios explained ahead of final round
Grandmaster R Vaishali is within reach of becoming the first Indian to win the FIDE Women’s Candidates title, heading into the final round on Wednesday.
April 15, 2026 17:35
Tiebreaks if needed tomorrow
If both Vaishali and Assaubayeva win their respective matches, they will head to a playoff tiebreaker on Thursday. Click here to read more
April 15, 2026 17:34
Big day for R Vaishali
If Vaishali beats Lagno Kateryna and Bibisara Assaubayeva draws or loses, Vaishali wins the tournament and will become the first Indian to win the women’s section.
April 15, 2026 17:32
Women’s section pairings for today
Anna Muzychuk — Zhu Jiner Aleksandra Goryachkina — Tan Zhongyi Vaishali Rameshbabu — Kateryna Lagno Divya Deshmukh — Bibisara Assaubayeva
April 15, 2026 17:32
Open section pairings for today
Andrey Esipenko — Fabiano Caruana Praggnanandhaa R — Hikaru Nakamura Matthias Bluebaum — Anish Giri Javokhir Sindarov — Wei Yi
April 15, 2026 17:31
It is the final round!
Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s coverage of Round 14 of FIDE Candidates 2026.
FIDE Candidates 2026: Check out all Live updates from Round 14 of the Candidates tournament happening in Cyprus on Wednesday.
Updated : Apr 15, 2026 17:59 IST
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Welcome to Sportstar’s coverage of the fourteenth round of the FIDE Candidates 2026 tournament happening in Cyprus on Wednesday.
R Praggnanandhaa (White) vs Hikaru Nakamura (Black)
R Vaishali (White) vs Lagno Kateryna (Black)
Divya Deshmukh (White) vs Bibisara Assaubayeva (Black)
April 15, 2026 17:59
Does Zhu Jiner have a chance
Anna Muzychuk, who entered the tournament as a replacement for Koneru Humpy, will take on Zhu Jiner, who is in title contention.
April 15, 2026 17:51
Will Sindarov’s help propel Bibisara to the World Title
April 15, 2026 17:48
Vishy Anand’s pick
In a video posted by FIDE, five-time World Champion, GM Viswanathan Anand was seen picking D Gukesh over Javokhir Sindarov for the World Chess Championship title.
April 15, 2026 17:46
FIDE Grand Swiss 2027 will take place in Isle of Man
April 15, 2026 17:44
Divya Deshmukh vs Bibisara
Divya takes on Bibisara and aims for a victory to end her campaign on a good note, and her win could also help Vaishali win the title today.
April 15, 2026 17:41
Read how Vaishali can win the title today
R Vaishali in FIDE Women’s Candidates 2026: Full title scenarios explained ahead of final round
Grandmaster R Vaishali is within reach of becoming the first Indian to win the FIDE Women’s Candidates title, heading into the final round on Wednesday.
April 15, 2026 17:35
Tiebreaks if needed tomorrow
If both Vaishali and Assaubayeva win their respective matches, they will head to a playoff tiebreaker on Thursday. Click here to read more
April 15, 2026 17:34
Big day for R Vaishali
If Vaishali beats Lagno Kateryna and Bibisara Assaubayeva draws or loses, Vaishali wins the tournament and will become the first Indian to win the women’s section.
April 15, 2026 17:32
Women’s section pairings for today
Anna Muzychuk — Zhu Jiner Aleksandra Goryachkina — Tan Zhongyi Vaishali Rameshbabu — Kateryna Lagno Divya Deshmukh — Bibisara Assaubayeva
April 15, 2026 17:32
Open section pairings for today
Andrey Esipenko — Fabiano Caruana Praggnanandhaa R — Hikaru Nakamura Matthias Bluebaum — Anish Giri Javokhir Sindarov — Wei Yi
April 15, 2026 17:31
It is the final round!
Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s coverage of Round 14 of FIDE Candidates 2026.
Mar 12, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; A general view of the official game ball during the first half in the match between Tigres UANL and FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images
Paulinho, building on his hat trick in the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal series, added two goals in the second leg on Wednesday, leading Toluca FC to a 3-0 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy in Carson, Calif.
Toluca prevailed 7-2 on aggregate, earning a spot in the semifinals against Los Angeles FC.
Up 4-2 following the opening leg last week in Mexico, Toluca expanded the edge in the 10th minute on Wednesday when Jesus Gallardo blasted a 20-yard, left-footed shot past Galaxy goalie JT Marcinkowski.
In the 58th minute, Helinho slipped in a pass to an unmarked Paulinho, who entered the 18-yard box, and Paulinho rolled a left-footed shot inside the far post.
Paulinho’s second goal of the night was a deft chip over Marcinkowski as he entered the penalty area on his own on a counterattack.
The last quarterfinal series will conclude later Wednesday night when the Seattle Sounders play host to Tigres UANL, who were up 2-0 following the first leg.
#Bayern #Munich #Real #Madrid #Kompany #lauds #total #togetherness #boys #Champions #League #win">Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid — Kompany lauds ‘total togetherness’ of his boys after Champions League win
Bayern Munich showed mental strength and absolute belief to come from behind thrice before beating Real Madrid 4-3 to reach the Champions League semifinals on Wednesday, coach Vincent Kompany said.
Kompany, who was booked during the game and will miss Bayern’s last-four first leg against holder Paris Saint-Germain, said the Bavarians, who are chasing a treble of titles, had to dig deep to overcome record 15-time European champions Real 6-4 on aggregate in a classic tie.
“The boys were mentally strong today to recover from setbacks,” Kompany said. “The fans helped us as well. We stayed calm and always felt that our moment would come. The boys deserved this win.
“What remains for me is the total togetherness that we showed. That’s what we take from the game. We showed absolute belief and will to fight our way back into the game.”
“During the game our team has a lot of talent and experience to deal with these situations. After 35 seconds in this game to concede a goal, you then have to press the reset button. We stayed focused on our game,” Kompany said.
Host Bayern trailed 0-1 after 35 seconds when Arda Guler took advantage of a bad mistake by goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, and Real twice more took the lead to go into half-time 3-2 ahead.
Bayern, 2-1 winner of the first leg in Spain, kept its composure, however, and struck twice in the dying stages through Luis Diaz and Michael Olise to snatch victory and advance to the last four.
The six-time European champion can potentially clinch the Bundesliga title this weekend, with a 12-point advantage and five matches remaining, before facing Bayer Leverkusen in the German Cup semifinals.
“It was a very emotional game,” said Kompany, in his second season at Bayern. “We had a lot of possession and always had the feeling we could score. But Real Madrid remain Real Madrid. They have very quick players and are always a threat.”
Kompany became the 11th coach to lead Bayern to the European Cup semifinals.
#Deadspin #Rory #McIlroys #Masters #repeat #scores #CBS #ratings #years">Deadspin | Rory McIlroy’s Masters repeat scores CBS’ best ratings in 11 years
Apr 12, 2026; Augusta, Georgia, USA; Rory McIlroy holds the Masters championship trophy during the green jacket ceremony after the final round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
Rory McIlroy’s sixth career major title — his second consecutive win at the Masters — earned a major ratings boost for CBS in the final round on Sunday afternoon.
The fourth round averaged nearly 14 million viewers — 13,995,000, more precisely — the most to watch CBS for the final day from Augusta National since the network averaged 14 million in 2015 when Jordan Spieth captured his first major, Front Office Sports reported.
Sunday’s final round was an 8% increase from April 2025 (12.71 million), when McIlroy completed a career grand slam. The Northern Irishman’s dramatic, emotional finish last year came in a playoff against England’s Justin Rose.
The 2026 edition also came with tension, as McIlroy shared the top of the leaderboard after the first round, surged to a record six-shot lead after 36 holes but saw that erased as he and Cameron Young were tied for the lead after three rounds.
Viewership numbers reflected that, as the third round averaged 8.1 million on CBS, a 14% increase from 7.6 million in 2025 and the largest number since Tiger Woods played the third round en route to his 2019 victory.
As McIlroy lost and regained his lead on Sunday, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler charged from four strokes behind and finished one shot back of McIlroy, who joined Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Woods as the only consecutive champions in Masters history.
The ratings followed on Sunday, peaking at slightly more than 20 million viewers — the largest at the Masters since 2013, when Adam Scott earned the green jacket and Woods tied for fourth. The peak viewership in 2025 was 19.54 million.
The 2026 Masters was the first since Nielsen began compiling ratings figures exclusively through its Big Data+ Panel methodology. The expanded system, designed for a more holistic and accurate view of audience behaviors, generally results in higher overall ratings for live sports broadcasts compared to the old method, according to Front Office Sports.
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