R. Vaishali beat compatriot Divya Deshmukh to move into joint lead with Zhu Jiner after Round 9 of the ongoing FIDE Candidates on Wednesday.

Zhu Jiner defeated Kateryna Lagno.

Vaishali capitalised on Divya’s central misjudgement, with a decisive seventh-rank invasion proving the difference.

Divya overcommitted with Nd3, conceding central control and creating a pawn weakness rather than a strength. Moves such as Rxc6 and Bc7 allowed Vaishali to activate her queen and rooks, taking control of the open files and diagonals.

From 28. Rb1 to Rb7, Vaishali invaded the seventh rank, targeted weak pawns and, with Divya reduced to seconds on the clock, forced a resignation.

In another key result, R. Praggnanandhaa pressed Wei Yi, particularly with move 32. Nd6, a strong move that put pressure on Black’s structure.

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It gave Praggnanandhaa more active pieces, and he followed it up with 35. Rxe4, a double attack that opened lines and targeted multiple weaknesses at once. Despite the activity, there was no decisive pawn break, while Wei Yi consolidated well and kept his king relatively safe.

Praggnanandhaa continued probing with moves such as Rc3, Rc7 and Nd6, but Wei Yi had sufficient coordination to neutralise the threats as the game ended in a draw.

Elsewhere, table-topper Javokhir Sindarov endured his second successive draw after letting a winning position slip against Matthias Bluebaum.

Anish Giri defeated Fabiano Caruana, and Andrey Esipenko held Hikaru Nakamura to a draw.

In the women’s section, Anna Muzychuk drew with Tan Zhongyi, while Aleksandra Goryachkina drew with Bibisara Assaubayeva.

Published on Apr 08, 2026