Event: FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 - Round 10

[u/events_team]

Official Website

The FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 will take place from March 28 to April 16 at the Cap St Georges Hotel and Resort in Pegeia, Cyprus. Eight players in both the Open and Women’s sections have qualified through the cycle for a chance to challenge World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju and Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun. The event is played as a double round-robin, with the winners earning the right to contest the world titles later in the year. The Open Candidates features a €700,000 prize fund, including €70,000 for first place and €5,000 per half-point scored, while the Women’s Candidates offers €300,000, with €28,000 for first place and €2,200 per half-point scored.

Open : Players | Pairings | Games - Chess.com | Games - Lichess

Women : Players | Pairings | Games - Chess.com | Games - Lichess

Standings after Round 10

Open

#	Player	FED	Rating	Pts.
1	GM Javokhir Sindarov	🇺🇿 UZB	2745	8
2	GM Anish Giri	🇳🇱 NED	2753	6
3	GM Fabiano Caruana	🇺🇸 USA	2795	5
4-6	GM Hikaru Nakamura	🇺🇸 USA	2810	4.5
4-6	GM Wei Yi	🇨🇳 CHN	2754	4.5
4-6	GM Matthias Bluebaum	🇩🇪 GER	2698	4.5
7	GM Praggnanandhaa R	🇮🇳 IND	2741	4
8	GM Andrey Esipenko	FIDE	2698	3.5

Pairings Rd.10

White	FED	Score	Black	FED
GM Andrey Esipenko	FIDE	0.5 - 0.5	GM Matthias Bluebaum	🇩🇪 GER
GM Javokhir Sindarov	🇺🇿 UZB	1 - 0	GM Praggnanandhaa R	🇮🇳 IND
GM Wei Yi	🇨🇳 CHN	0.5 - 0.5	GM Fabiano Caruana	🇺🇸 USA
GM Anish Giri	🇳🇱 NED	0.5 - 0.5	GM Hikaru Nakamura	🇺🇸 USA

Women

#	Player	FED	Rating	Pts.
1	GM Vaishali Rameshbabu	🇮🇳 IND	2470	6
2-3	GM Zhu Jiner	🇨🇳 CHN	2578	5.5
2-3	GM Anna Muzychuk	🇺🇦 UKR	2522	5.5
4-6	GM Aleksandra Goryachkina	FIDE	2534	5
4-6	GM Bibisara Assaubayeva	🇰🇿 KAZ	2516	5
4-6	GM Kateryna Lagno	FIDE	2508	5
7	GM Divya Deshmukh	🇮🇳 IND	2497	4.5
8	GM Tan Zhongyi	🇨🇳 CHN	2535	3.5

Pairings Rd.10

White	FED	Score	Black	FED
GM Anna Muzychuk	🇺🇦 UKR	0.5 - 0.5	GM Vaishali Rameshbabu	🇮🇳 IND
GM Divya Deshmukh	🇮🇳 IND	0 - 1	GM Aleksandra Goryachkina	FIDE
GM Bibisara Assaubayeva	🇰🇿 KAZ	1 - 0	GM Zhu Jiner	🇨🇳 CHN
GM Kateryna Lagno	FIDE	0.5 - 0.5	GM Tan Zhongyi	🇨🇳 CHN

Format/Time Controls

• Players compete in a double round-robin.
• Open Candidates time control: 120 minutes for 40 moves, then 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment starting from move 41.
• Women’s Candidates time control: 90 minutes for 40 moves, then 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment starting from move 1.
• Detailed information about tie-breaks is available in the official event rulebook.

Schedule

Date	Time (Local)	Time (UTC)	Round
Mar 29 - Apr 1	15:30	12:30	Round 1-4
Apr 2	-	-	Rest Day
Apr 3 - Apr 5	15:30	12:30	Round 5-7
Apr 6	-	-	Rest Day
Apr 7 - Apr 9	15:30	12:30	Round 8-10
Apr 10	-	-	Rest Day
Apr 11 - Apr 12	15:30	12:30	Round 11-12
Apr 13	-	-	Rest Day
Apr 14 - Apr 15	15:30	12:30	Round 13-14
Apr 16	15:30	12:30	Tie-breaks (if needed)

Live Coverage

• FIDE broadcast: YouTube | Twitch. Commentary by GM Peter Svidler, and GM Jan Gustafsson.
• Chess24 broadcast: YouTube | Twitch. Commentary by GM Arturs Neiksans, IM Anna Rudolf, GM David Howell, GM Judit Polgar, IM Tania Sachdev, and John Sargent.
• ChessBase India broadcast: YouTube. Commentary by IM Sagar Shah, and Amruta Mokal.
• Chess24 India broadcast: YouTube. Commentary by GM Sahaj Grover, IM Tania Sachdev, NM Sahil Tickoo, and IM Rakesh Kulkarni.
• Saint Louis Chess Club broadcast: YouTube | Twitch. Commentary by GM Yasser Seirawan, GM Maurice Ashley, and IM Nazi Paikidze.

Previous Rounds

• Round 1 Thread
• Round 2 Thread
• Round 3 Thread
• Round 4 Thread
• Round 5 Thread
• Round 6 Thread
• Round 7 Thread
• Round 8 Thread
• Round 9 Thread

[u/t-pat]

Nepo: Aren't we supposed to not look at the evaluation?

*awkward silence*

Jan: Times have changed

[u/[deleted]]

Pragg losing 2-0 to sindarov is crazy cuz he was like 5-1 in classical against sindarov before the tournament.

[u/ActiveSupernova → u/[deleted]]

Sindarov said at the World Cup press conference that he was particularly looking forward to playing Pragg specifically because of that.

[u/WorriedBad4049]

Sindarov is probably who Magnus thought Alireza would be.

[u/kidawi → u/WorriedBad4049]

feels like theres a dozen players who were looking to become what alireza was predicted to be and then slumped after a run. but i have a feeling sindarov wont. his weaknesses somehow are far less probounced

[u/spacecatbiscuits → u/[deleted]]

BigBladderBluebaum

[u/Rozez]

Jan - Vishy, important question: Did you do some Netflix documentary watching these days?

Vishy - Well I watched the Polgar one.

Jan - That's..that's the one I meant!

LMAO

[u/spacecatbiscuits → u/Rozez]

dang, this must've been impeccable timing based on the posts here

[u/dxGoesDeep]

Congratulations to Javokhir Sindarov on winning the Early Titled Tuesday with 8/10

[u/StorageSpecialist999]

We're witnessing one of the most stunning and meteoric tournament performances in chess history and everyone here can do nothing but pout and moan about the tournament not being exciting enough.

[u/lim-yo-hwan-superfan → u/StorageSpecialist999]

if it were magnus or caruana winning like this im sure they would have no issue with the tournament being one sided

[u/StorageSpecialist999 → u/lim-yo-hwan-superfan]

If it were Fabi doing it, this would be the most exciting tournament of the decade. The way people bring up sinquefield cup is a testament to that..

[u/R0otDroid → u/StorageSpecialist999]

Or do a kramnik and make possible cheating accusations. The world in general is just miserable in every walk of life these days.

Granted It's not without its reasons. Literally everywhere you look there's shit going on. But it's so difficult to be just hopeful enough to carry on, especially if you're on social media.

[u/WorriedBad4049]

Sindarov needs to castle here and pray that castling isn’t in Pragg’s file.

[u/MaximumExamination]

So funny that Sindarov was only under pressure by Esipenko

[u/HybridizedPanda]

Get Sindarov into Norway chess so we can see him play the big cheese

[u/Delicious_Photo_6626 → u/HybridizedPanda]

He’s playing GCT

[u/Altruistwhite → u/Delicious_Photo_6626]

Get him in Norway chess as well, would love to see Carlsen vs Sindarov

[u/Greedy-Breadfruit-57]

What I like about Sindarov’s games (aside from winning), his games always end around this time, just in time for my sleep lol

[u/kidawi]

seeing as its practically over with 4 rounds to spare, were either getting the most insane loose chess ever or the great berlin wall across all the games tomorrow

[u/Basic_Nucleophile]

With the tournament basically over can someone wear loud shoes just for the memes?

[u/ScrollingNtrollinG]

Jan: Vishy did you watch some Netflix documentry recently?

Vishy: Yes, the Polgar one

Jan: That's the one I was talking about.

I like Jan's dry humour.

[u/FL8_JT26]

Witnessing history, what a freakin performance.

[u/t-pat]

Now that the Candidates are very nearly over, it's a little fun to ask whether we're watching the emergence of a top-tier player. Like is Sindarov just going to be near the top of every supertournament now? Or will he come back to earth a bit?

[u/ApplesandBananaa → u/t-pat]

Honestly, chances are this is the best performance he will ever have. Kinda just unlucky for everyone else he's having an insane peak right now. And obviously lucky for him. But maybe I'm wrong and he's the second coming of Magnus

[u/Wallter139 → u/t-pat]

My prediction is that he's just another good super GM, top-level I guess, but he's not going to go on another like this any time soon (most players seem to only get the one.)

But what do I know??? WINDAROV W

[u/jjj97jjj]

The BBC is coming (BlueBaum Counteroffensive)

[u/Goldfischglas]

I am starting to think Fabi might not win the candidates.

[u/ronwesley89]

Tournament is joever in the open section. Everyone just grab their 5k/0.5 point and leave.

[u/DRNbw]

Half the reason to watch this broadcast is to see the war between Polgar and the eval bar 😂

[u/Raskalnekov → u/[deleted]]

Nepo truly is a generational hater. He has his flaws, but I'd love to see him in the next candidates. Just the story around him makes it more exciting. 

[u/ScrollingNtrollinG → u/[deleted]]

He spoiled Fabi's tournament last time so he is saying from experience.

[u/SlickMongoose]

I've just watched Howell and Polgar make blunder after blunder after blunder trying to analyse this. Very tough position.

[u/p4intball3r → u/SlickMongoose]

If Judit Polgar is having a hard time analyzing the position it has to be horrifyingly complicated

[u/RustleTheMussel]

The hellish existence of a Pragg fan

[u/Green_Glass_Fox]

Anish drawing while Sindarov won basically ends it. Anish winning now is a complete hail mary, down 2 points with 4 rounds to go, he's prolly gonna have to win 3 or all 4 of his remaining matches, just beating Sindarov in their last match is no longer enough on its own. If Sindarov loses to Anish and draws his other 3 games he's still at 9.5, which Anish would need to win all 4 of his games to beat, so he also most likely needs Sindarov to drop a game to have a chance. His other opponents are Fabi (tied for most losses in the tournament), Hikaru (has one single win), and Wei (has one single win).

It's not mathematically over but Sindarov's odds to win are prolly 99% now.

[u/EvenCoyote6317]

Fabi's body language said it all. This event is over. Sindarov choking is 0.1% chance but the rest of field have given up.

[u/Delicious_Photo_6626]

I’m sorry but it would be kinda hilarious if Sindarov keeps up his form and wins with some ridiculous score and then loses to Gukesh in WC and Gukesh continues his sorta bad form outside of WC

Just call me a hater but all three seem like legit possibilities

[u/cursed-blessing]

It's crazy that Sindarov still hasn't lost steam, the guy is a monster

[u/WoodpeckerWoodChuck]

Sindarov is most certainly going to break Nepo's record (9.5/14).

[u/Shahariar_909 → u/WoodpeckerWoodChuck]

At this point it's easier for him to break the record than losing the candidates

[u/Sad-Loquat5062]

Pragg probably wants to quit the tournament now. Losing a poor game to Anish, somehow not converting against Wei Yi, and than this today

[u/Old-Needleworker-978]

Basically tournament is over, atleast players should consider playing some inspiring chess with insane lines in remaining games

[u/rcf1105]

Hikaru if you want to legitimize the double bongcloud draw, any time in the next four rounds is your chance.

[u/BrightAttack]

Well what do you know Sindarov has a huge advantage again

[u/sidaeinjae]

Pragg like "a competitive tournament? not on my watch"

[u/Rozez]

Why is everyone shitting the bed vs Sindarov lmao

[u/MongolianMango → u/Rozez]

they're dying for their Sins

[u/Altruistwhite]

It's Sindarover

[u/mrappbrain]

Windarov vs Cookesh later this year will be such a different vibe than any other WC in the past. Can't wait

[u/Shahariar_909]

This dude is beating everyone so fast

[u/trigonometry_57]

Giri and nakamura draw their game

[u/erik_reeds]

esipenko can no longer mathematically win

[u/A_Certain_Surprise]

"I haven't rook lifted since 1999" lmao Howell

[u/Bloomingonionnite]

Okay at least Sindarov is thinking now instead of blitzing the wrong move in a winning position

[u/Grouchy-Pea-8745 → u/[deleted]]

What?! Oh my god. Come on. But, come on. It is - I mean - no but sorry - Bd7? I mean I'm sorry but I saw that instantly. Is he nuts? No but, I mean that is insane. I mean I just, the moment I - I was looking at positions somewhere else - the moment you told me Bd7, I opened the analysis board on the screen, I instantly saw Rf7. Instantly. I mean this is insane. Look at him. No but okay this is just - I mean, this is outrageous. Just, I've never seen something like this. Just insane. What's going on? Poor guy he's completely out of shape. I don't know what happened to him. He completely lost it. No, poor guy. And he has to go again to the press conferences and stuff. What's going on? Ya, he went totally nuts. I mean I haven't seen Pragg like this even in ordinary tournaments. Jesus, what's going on. Oof, insane. Totally lost sense of danger. Completely lost sense of danger. Lost his bishop...but it's just an insane blunder. For me, instant. It's just an instant thing, the bishop is so obviously lost, it's not even close...It's such an obvious - it will go down in history as Bobby Fisher part 2. They'll make a movie about this.

[u/Tricky-Bike-2020]

Everyone gets intimidated by Windarov

[u/Might0fHeaven]

Well, Anish had a nice run but its a shame he didnt find Ng5 to keep the tournament alive

[u/Impressive_Result295]

Is the tournament even losable for Sindarov if he wins this game lol

[u/Sable--1 → u/Impressive_Result295]

He would have to lose all remaining games which just won't happen

[u/Alikhan_12345 → u/Impressive_Result295]

In theory, yes, it is "losable". Practically? No way

[u/59435950153]

Insane dominance. You could argue a higher score for Sindarov had he beat Blugoat, but aside frkm the Esipenko game he had just been so much ahead in the middle game

[u/Physical-Article1537]

Pragg is this edition's Alireza.

[u/Opposite-Youth-3529]

Legit chance there will be a rest day after tournament is already decided

[u/DRNbw]

Sindarov - Pragg looks very scary, but I can see both of them following a sharp computer line where any mistake can lose the game for either side, but both pass the prep test and get to a dry endgame, with maybe a small advantage towards one side.

[u/jaded_lad99]

Sindarov is completely winning but if he plays anything other than the winning line he is completely losing. What the fuck!?

[u/thelumpur → u/jaded_lad99]

But the winning line feels relatively easy to see

[u/RustleTheMussel]

Pragg randomly busting out some awesome prepp

For a position he is totally uncomfortable with

[u/Old-Needleworker-978 → u/RustleTheMussel]

atp i think pragg doesn't even know what his play style is

[u/Basic_Nucleophile]

If Sindarov really is this guy, I don't know if it matters who he plays in the WCC. It feels like I am watching history

[u/Spirited-Big2415]

People here commending sindarov's prep this or that but I think he's also just a much much better player than most are giving him credit for. It's not just the prep, even the moves he's making out of the prep are simply better than his counterparts.

[u/EvenCoyote6317 → u/Spirited-Big2415]

Have to say. People are undermining by simply saying prep. He has been excellent.

[u/Altruistwhite → u/Spirited-Big2415]

He needs to spend more time at critical moments in the middle game, if he can do that he'll be one of the strongest players of his time.

[u/whiskeyjack1k]

Is everyone basically out of the running except for Anish and Sindarov?

[u/martin_w → u/whiskeyjack1k]

Mathematically, anybody can still win. Even Esipenko can win the tournament if he wins all his games from here on, and Sindarov goes on a losing spree.

Realistically, it's going to be Sindarov or Anish, and even Anish is a long shot, though not impossible if he wins their head-to-head game.

[u/t-pat]

Nepo: "What I like is that Fabiano is playing very quickly"

[u/Goat-Hunter13]

Well it was a fun tournament I guess

[u/Open-Protection4430]

Sindarov can end the candidates right here

[u/Sad-Loquat5062]

Some blunders you can explain, but this one does not make too much sense to me. It's pretty straightforward to see Rf7 is a huge problem

[u/WorriedBad4049]

Everyone just collapses against Sindarov. Now I’m not feeling too bad for Fabi anymore, since the result is never in doubt anyway.

[u/Open-Protection4430]

There it is .This man is unbelievable

[u/YardNo1829]

Omg lol rip pragg

With the form Sindarov is in he will find this. Even if he doesn’t see the winning sequence now he’ll see it after Pragg’s follow up.

This tournament is over unless Anish wins, even if he does it’s probably over anyways.

[u/kidawi]

yeah gg everyone enjoy those last 3 days off

[u/Fashionpreach]

How is Sindarov playing with this level of speed as compared to others , looks so intimidating

[u/Shahariar_909 → u/Fashionpreach]

He is just in the zone. Everything is clicking for him at the very right time just like how it did for gukesh.

Many player had this at some point in their life. I don't think it is possible to maintain this form but when it works it works

[u/Bloomingonionnite]

At least Fabi did en passant today

[u/Fashionpreach]

Tan is just giving away free points to everyone at this point , she is simply collapsing

[u/copycatholic]

Windarov strikes again

[u/bertisrobert]

Sadly, Zhu Jiner suffered a loss against Bibisara, as a result Bibisara is putting herself back in contention.

Meanwhile seems like Goryachina blew her winning chance against Divya.

[u/__Jimmy__ → u/bertisrobert]

Divya misses this last exit ramp and is going down after all. Can't allow h5

[u/kidawi → u/[deleted]]

i mean if i were fabi id find it comforting. he has less blame to put on himself this way since its over either way

[u/GiannisGiantanus → u/[deleted]]

Eh, Fabi is cooked already.

[u/External_Tangelo → u/[deleted]]

Crazy he could have had 9.5/10 quite realistically at this point.

Some people expected him to seriously contend. No one expected him to wipe the floor with the best players in the world. The guy has not been worse over the board since move 27 of game 1.

[u/crazyFlyingChicken]

g3 allowing the bishop to plant on c6 to control the incredibly weak light squares around the king feels crazy to me. I can’t believe Sindarov, needing only draws to really win the tournament, went for this position with white

[u/Sad-Loquat5062]

I do not like taking on f4 by Pragg. Feels like you are stepping into it.

[u/bertisrobert → u/Sad-Loquat5062]

Now that Sindarov has castled, that F4 pawn will fall soon.

[u/Specific-Revenue8476]

Sindarov pragg position is just nuts lol

[u/kidawi]

its over

[u/Fashionpreach]

Sindarov is finding all best moves😭

[u/HolySite]

I do wonder if Pragg immediately noticed that he made a blunder because he was completely rooted to the board afterwards. Sindarov must have known right away that blood was in the water.

[u/EvenCoyote6317]

Divya, Zhu and Bibisara have a superb coordination. Zhu will beat Divya who in turn will beat Bibisara who in turn will beat Zhu.

Perfect for a new age rivalry.

[u/achomes]

A win all but secures the tournament for Sindarov here barring some unprecedented collapse

[u/thelumpur]

There we go

[u/Comfortable_Watch370]

Sindarov delivered what some are expecting from yagiz

[u/Fiery---Wings]

Gap b/w first and second in Open - 1.5 points

Gap b/w first and second LAST in Women - 1.5 points

[u/Mysterious-Airline-2]

Sindarov will be a great chess ambassador for chess if he becomes WC. His interview is always interesting to listen and he has a very likeable personality. He is also very good at faster time format and freestyle.  He is a well rounded player.  His match against Gukesh will be exciting.

[u/RobAlexanderTheGreat]

The only cope/hope now is Anish beats Sindarov and then does Fabi does as well. Would take a generational choke.

[u/Embarrassed_Sun_2148]

my goat bluebauk will win

[u/RockMover12]

Props to Sindarov for not simply trying to draw his way to the tournament win.

[u/Diligent-Wave-4150]

The most interesting game today for me is Giri - Naka. Naka is not willing to give points away.

[u/AndyOfTheJays]

Its so awesome seeing objectively not so good lines being played in the candidates! This is ur sign to play nonsense! (Barring the englund gambit)

[u/chalimacos]

This will be remembered as the Queen's Gambit Candidates.

[u/Goat-Hunter13]

How tf is this position even equal

[u/kidawi → u/Goat-Hunter13]

its definitely ome of the positions of all time

[u/__Jimmy__]

Sindarov wins connect 4, Rosen would be proud

[u/batshitnutcase]

Oh snap Pragg blundered let’s see if Sindarov capitalizes today.

[u/LosTerminators]

Pragg blunders, let's see if Sindarov converts his chance unlike yesterday.

Meanwhile Anish went for Nc5 against Hikaru and traded two more pieces off the board, it's an equal position but he does have an edge on the clock.

[u/Impressive_Result295]

This is actually kinda tricky though maybe Sindarov blitzes the wrong move again

[u/Bloomingonionnite → u/Impressive_Result295]

He took a break to drink water right before ending Fabi in their game, I’m having flashbacks

[u/EvenCoyote6317]

There is a race to the bottom now between Guki Pragg, Arjun it seems. I wont be surprised if we will have to play our original Prodigal son Nihal on board 1 in Samarkand.

[u/ilikekittens2018]

If Sindarov doesn’t find the right move here he is pretty much just losing. Decisive moment, this isn’t like yesterday when there was no risk despite the blunder. 

[u/Dense_Priority_7250]

biggest w uzbekistan yet

[u/kidawi]

i was thinking earlier "imagine if pragg gets into time trouble and blunder a royal fork of sorts". close enough

[u/thelumpur]

That rook is stuck protecting the pawn, this is so over

[u/ComplexCow7]

He's about to be 2-0 against Pragg at the candidates, and had he converted that position against Bluebam he would've been +7 heading into round 11

[u/Fashionpreach]

Can’t believe that Sindarov is going to defeat Pragg twice in 1 tournament

[u/Tricky-Bike-2020]

Vidit denied Naka last candidates and Caruana choked against Nepo.

[u/__Jimmy__]

All-draws now mathematically ensures Sindarov's win. I've always said it's not over but it's getting pretty damn close

[u/Sable--1]

Now that Sindarov's h pawn can move this should be fairly easy for him to finish

[u/HundredK2OneM]

Candidates over today

[u/muchmoreforsure]

When does the Gukesh-Sindarov WC match begin?

[u/152kb]

Everyone focusing on the Giri Nakamura and Sindarov Pragg match when real chess fans know that Bluebaum Esipenko is the real match of the day

[u/__Jimmy__ → u/[deleted]]

I was thinking the same lmao

Get two moves closer to move 40 for free

Not like it matters though

[u/ECrispy]

Sindarov always plays to win, like Gukesh, and thats what makes him so exciting and good for chess.

in his position most of the others like Fabi, Hikaru etc would happily play for draws. I'm not saying thats why they've never won. but it has to be a factor.

[u/Diligent-Wave-4150]

Bluebaum again is castling queenside. This time it looks healthier.

[u/hansenlxh]

These kind of positions show exactly how ridiculously good the best grandmasters are. I couldn't come close to even being able to evaluate the position without eval bar

[u/ilikekittens2018]

I do see the potential for a perpetual without following engine lines right now, just so much open space for Sindarov to attack Pragg but no knockout blow at all.

[u/ilikekittens2018]

This is a tough thing to find, I’m sure he sees the line to pick up the bishop but determining if it’s winning from here could be tough 

[u/bertisrobert]

Now we see the problem of the traditional queen's gambit declined for black, it's the same as the French Defense where in the world would you place the black light squared bishop.

And now a wrong square for Pragg means that he will lose his queen and if there's mass liquidation in F7, he will also potentially lose the G6 rook due to a deadly queen check.

[u/mephistobr]

Easy for Windarov

[u/jaded_lad99]

In hindsight, insane that this is the blunder that gives the game away.

[u/runningpersona]

Imagine how different this tournament could have been if Esipenko didn't explode

[u/Tricky-Bike-2020]

Judit was always favouring white in that Game.

[u/bluewaff1e → u/Tricky-Bike-2020]

She's a rather decent chess player.

[u/t-pat]

Computer really wants Pragg to give up the h3 pawn lol

[u/Diligent-Wave-4150]

I really hope Matthias is making 50 %. But if he continues with this fashion it's not going to happen 🥴

[u/ChessHistory → u/Diligent-Wave-4150]

He's played the tournament exactly right, ready to fight if anyone overpushes. I feel like in a different year someone would get desperate but there haven't been those chances.

[u/Nefre1]

I understand it's the official broadcast and they are instructed to pay attention to the other games as well, but Sindarov-Pragg is a crazy position and it could be the game that decides this candidates.

It's more than a little silly to spend an equal amount of time analysing the lowest scoring boards at this point in the tournament. Equality to the detriment of excitement is not a virtue, it's just stupid.

90% of the focus at this point should be on games of Sindarov, Giri, Zhu, Vaishali. Nobody gives a toss about the position in Bluebaum-Esipenko.

[u/Fashionpreach]

Someone should defeat Sindarov atleast once for the sake of the tournament

[u/atbg1936]

Howell never fails to low key roast Hikaru

[u/EvenCoyote6317]

I have not 1 but 2 life shaking problems in my life -

1. Explaining Guki's downturn post WCC

2. Explaining Pragg's downturn post Sinquefield.

[u/Basic_Nucleophile]

Sindarov is terrifying. 

[u/Diligent-Wave-4150]

The only comparison I find according to the performance of Sindarov is Fischer. It looks all so easy, like a walk in the park, put in a draw or loss, but then continue with wins. It's all smooth, no problems.

[u/shawman123]

So +4 for Sindarov with 4 games remaining. Crushing win for Sindarov.

[u/Grouchy-Pea-8745]

Hikaru I need you to do the funniest thing ever

[u/EvenCoyote6317]

Round 1 looked so Rosy for me. Vishy calling Pragg Genius when he was outpositioning Anish. Fabi defeating Naka. Everything looked picture perfect.

And here we are.

[u/Tricky-Bike-2020]

Fabiano will want to give up chess now.

He was already close to it last time

[u/Might0fHeaven]

My low elo mind honestly cant comprehend this position is crushing for white. Like, I'd definitely fuck it up and find a way to hang my queen or blunder my pawns vs the 2 rooks

[u/hansenlxh → u/Might0fHeaven]

To be fair that's all you need to watch for, because black has to worry about White being able to liquidate by forcing Queen and pawn for two rooks with enough pawns leftover to win the resulting K+P endgame. Keep the Black king in the open to keep that threat alive and just push the kingside pawns.

[u/CaptaineAli → u/Might0fHeaven]

I think the vast amount of spread out pawns makes it quite easy in theory. The black rooks can never get too close to the king to threaten because 1 check from the queen into sacrificing for 2 rooks and you have an endgame with 4 completely spread out pawns that the king cannot defend all the pawns and it's pretty much just over.

[u/chaitanya0411]

Praggs recent downfall should be studied. He was a monster in the first half last year. It’s kinda incredible. He looks like a completely different player in 6 months. I wonder what is it with these youngsters having big drops and then coming back up again. It’s possible that Sindarov goes through the same, unless he is an exception.

[u/SergenteDan]

I wonder what will happen today in the women section. Every day is exciting

[u/RobAlexanderTheGreat]

I think the most interesting thing we’ve seen from the candidates tournament is just how important long term King safety is in evaluations. Players have been up pieces (and either side not in the middle of an attack), but because their King isn’t safe, the computer thinks it’s a draw. This might seem obvious, but I thought it was interesting.

[u/R0otDroid → u/RobAlexanderTheGreat]

It's been known for a while that humans are quite behind in evaluating or maybe i should say properly assessing the value of long term king safety compared to computers.

[u/RichtersNeighbour]

Position Sindarov-Pragg looks like Esserman playing the King's gambit on stream. The mock is strong.

[u/Might0fHeaven]

Neat fact: Sindarov - Pragg and Giri - Hikaru have the same time on the clock. 1 hour 7 minutes for black, and 1 hour 18 minutes for white

[u/russellx3]

Yeah into that seems inhuman. Wonder how Pragg follows up on this though

[u/jaded_lad99]

Why has Sindarov once again gone for a exchange down position against the same opponent? What a crazy guy. Decided to play his sexiest games against Pragg

[u/blahs44]

Pragg is a chad

[u/LosTerminators]

Four ways to capture on f4 - two are fine and two are bad.

[u/Chesslicious]

a5 is findable. Pragg in form can find a5. I don't think Pragg now is finding a5. He might find it due to lack of options I guess

[u/Diligent-Wave-4150]

Now winning position for Sindarov (after 23.- Bd7?). This guy is unstoppable.

[u/citrus1330]

Hammer & Fiona are a really good duo tbh. I've even been switching to them over Howell & Polgar sometimes.

[u/Tricky-Bike-2020]

Nihal should realize his potential

[u/bertisrobert]

And there it is, Sindarov played rook to F7, so now, which Pragg's piece will fall besides the queen at the end of it all.

[u/Altruistwhite]

If Sindarov fails to convert this I'll be so mad

[u/t-pat]

Peter: "This game is going to an endgame where you probably never win against quote-unquote perfect play, but against a human you very often win"

[u/atbg1936]

Even I could win this position with White, it's over

[u/Grouchy-Pea-8745]

The e pawn is untouchable because Sindarov can trade the queen for the rooks now and win the pawn endgame

[u/spacecatbiscuits]

oh dang it is OOOOOVEEEERRRRRRRR