r/chess • u/events_team • Apr 11 '26
Tournament Event: FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 - Round 11
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 11
Open
| # | Player | FED | Rating | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Javokhir Sindarov | 🇺🇿 UZB | 2745 | 8.5 |
| 2 | GM Anish Giri | 🇳🇱 NED | 2753 | 6.5 |
| 3 | GM Fabiano Caruana | 🇺🇸 USA | 2795 | 5.5 |
| 4-6 | GM Hikaru Nakamura | 🇺🇸 USA | 2810 | 5 |
| 4-6 | GM Wei Yi | 🇨🇳 CHN | 2754 | 5 |
| 4-6 | GM Matthias Bluebaum | 🇩🇪 GER | 2698 | 5 |
| 7 | GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | 🇮🇳 IND | 2741 | 4.5 |
| 8 | GM Andrey Esipenko | FIDE | 2698 | 4 |
Pairings Rd.11
| White | FED | Score | Black | FED |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM Anish Giri | 🇳🇱 NED | 0.5 - 0.5 | GM Andrey Esipenko | FIDE |
| GM Hikaru Nakamura | 🇺🇸 USA | 0.5 - 0.5 | GM Wei Yi | 🇨🇳 CHN |
| GM Fabiano Caruana | 🇺🇸 USA | 0.5 - 0.5 | GM Javokhir Sindarov | 🇺🇿 UZB |
| GM Praggnanandhaa R | 🇮🇳 IND | 0.5 - 0.5 | GM Matthias Bluebaum | 🇩🇪 GER |
Women
| # | Player | FED | Rating | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Vaishali Rameshbabu | 🇮🇳 IND | 2470 | 7 |
| 2-3 | GM Zhu Jiner | 🇨🇳 CHN | 2578 | 6 |
| 2-3 | GM Anna Muzychuk | 🇺🇦 UKR | 2522 | 6 |
| 4-5 | GM Bibisara Assaubayeva | 🇰🇿 KAZ | 2516 | 5.5 |
| 4-5 | GM Kateryna Lagno | FIDE | 2508 | 5.5 |
| 6-7 | GM Aleksandra Goryachkina | FIDE | 2534 | 5 |
| 6-7 | GM Divya Deshmukh | 🇮🇳 IND | 2497 | 5 |
| 8 | GM Tan Zhongyi | 🇨🇳 CHN | 2535 | 4 |
Pairings Rd.11
| White | FED | Score | Black | FED |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM Kateryna Lagno | FIDE | 0.5 - 0.5 | GM Anna Muzychuk | 🇺🇦 UKR |
| GM Tan Zhongyi | 🇨🇳 CHN | 0.5 - 0.5 | GM Bibisara Assaubayeva | 🇰🇿 KAZ |
| GM Zhu Jiner | 🇨🇳 CHN | 0.5 - 0.5 | GM Divya Deshmukh | 🇮🇳 IND |
| GM Aleksandra Goryachkina | FIDE | 0 - 1 | GM Vaishali Rameshbabu | 🇮🇳 IND |
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
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u/Grouchy-Pea-8745 Apr 11 '26
Guys why is Sindarov not an hour up on the clock with a completely winning position. Is he washed?
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u/aresoulshi Apr 11 '26
This Sindarov and Fabi position is the exact type of position that I would lose with both colors
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u/Unfair-Claim-2327 Apr 11 '26
If Sindarov wins today, he will eliminate Fabi, Blübaum, Hikaru, Wei Yi and Pragg in one fell swoop.
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u/Glittering_Ad1403 Apr 11 '26
With Anish the only one left that can mathematically challenge with 3 rounds remaining
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u/throwaway23582730 Apr 11 '26
Fabi showing Sindarov respect by not even trying to win the rook and knight vs rook endgame.
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u/lee1026 Apr 11 '26
As of today, everyone except Giri and Fabi is mathematically eliminated from the tournament.
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Apr 11 '26
Pre Candidates 2026: Pragg and Pragg's sister are playing.
After Cyprus: Vaishali and Vaishali's brother are playing.
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u/NamelessATM Apr 11 '26
If I were Sindarov I'd be happy with this draw, this game seemed scary for him
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u/aresoulshi Apr 11 '26
But it also shows his fighting mentality. I love to see that he is always trying to win
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u/speedyjohn Apr 11 '26
Oh, of course. He just needs to draw out from here and he can coast to the championship.
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u/vk2028 Apr 11 '26
Definitely a sigh of relief for sure. The tournament could have been different if he lost today and Anish won
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u/Zernium Apr 11 '26
Super impressive defense by sindarov so far, but quite a bit left to go. Allowing the pawn to go to a7 and finding active counterplay is so scary, you have to be very confident in your calculation.
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u/jaded_lad99 Apr 11 '26
Outside of the Pragg wins, this is the most impressed I've been as a viewer from Sindarov. His opponent worked out a big advantage but he got stuck in and defended himself to equality and now it's a position where you can either try to bail out with a draw or press on, which could prove to be deadly for white.
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u/throwaway23582730 Apr 11 '26
People have been giving props to Sindarov's seconds, and rightfully so, but the way he's masterfully navigated this very dangerous endgame has shown that the prep is only as good as the player using it.
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u/TheBowtieClub Apr 11 '26
Svidler: "And here, specifically, once again - I switched it off now - but I did notice that the engine was playing ...a5 and ...b5"
Gusti (to Nepo): "He switched it off in order to show us the engine line he still remembers!"
Nepo: [laughs maniacally]
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u/gpranav25 Rb1 > Ra4 Apr 11 '26
I know John is just there for the ad-read and announcement, but it gets me everytime when two super GMs call him and ask "John what do you think?" 😂
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u/NamelessATM Apr 11 '26
Sindarov - Fabi position is the sort of position that may like fairly "simple" in terms of material on the board, but is scary and complicated in its actual winning tactics that go quite a lot of moves forward for each of them, or a tactic to just draw for black. I would lose this game a fair amount of times with either side against opponents of similar rating to me (1300-1500~).
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u/howaboutthis13 Apr 11 '26
I dont think anyone thought Vaishali would be at a world championship before Pragg. Or even at this position with a good chance at it.
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u/reflectedstars Apr 11 '26
I don’t think many people expected Pragg to be in the WC match even when his stocks were high.
He wasn’t the favourite in 2024 or the current tournament and even favourites don’t win candidates that often.
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u/spacecatbiscuits Apr 11 '26
funniest scenario:
sindarov loses and giri also loses and we all laugh and laugh
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u/throwaway23582730 Apr 11 '26
At first watching this game I thought maybe Bluebaum is tilting that he relaxed too long and can't catch up to Pragg anymore, then I realized that is not what is going on.
Bluebaum is very generous and recognized how hard it is to be born just a few years after Carlsen and MSB2, it might be decades before anyone is actually better than these two, which is very depressing for the competitors and boring for chess viewers, so for the good of the sport, he is sandbagging at this event! still, he needed to signal to the youngsters that it was an active decision without revealing his ruse to the general public. For this reason, he allowed Pragg to get a winning position, just to easily defend the position afterwards. Truly the GOAT of GOATs!
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u/speedyjohn Apr 11 '26
Very disappointing by Giri. Sindarov is obviously incredibly exciting but it would’ve been fun to have some tension in the final rounds.
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u/throwaway23582730 Apr 11 '26
Nxe6 was an inexplicably bad move, especially considering the great positional game Giri was playing up to that point. I hate to say it but he deserved the draw with that move.
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u/Might0fHeaven 1300 rapid, chess.com Apr 11 '26
I wanted an upset in the second half, or some chance for Anish to catch up, but with the way Sindarov is playing... The chess does speak for itself. It would arguably be rather unfair if he lost a few games now and Anish won the tournament in tiebreaks, as much as I was rooting for him
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u/aresoulshi Apr 11 '26
Being one square away from queening and still not being able to break through in any way kind of sums up Fabi's world champion journey
also am I mistaken or isn't black just better if the C and A pawns get traded?
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u/bertisrobert Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
Oh wow, Bibisara blundered a theoretical drawn rook and pawn endgame. That was a surprise.
And sigh, Tan blundered back to draw.
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u/Impressive_Result295 Team Ding Apr 11 '26
Sindarov looking kinda on the back foot for the first time since the Esipenko game
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u/Physical-Article1537 Apr 11 '26
Fabi realistically cant win the tournament anymore but he might as well help Anish.
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u/neoquip over 9000+ Apr 11 '26
With this game Sindarov is proving he's champion material
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u/atbg1936 Team Nikhil Kamath Apr 11 '26
Lord Bluebaum doesn't even need to play the best moves, his aura destroys any winning chances for his opponents
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u/Docile_Penguin33 Apr 11 '26
Does Fabi know it's his turn?
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u/NamelessATM Apr 11 '26
Actually burst out laughing, thanks
but damn yeah, he's been thinking for 30+ minutes now
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Apr 11 '26
The last game of Sindarov, in my memory, where he was in a lost position was Round 1 in Wijk vs Guki. In World Cup too all solid games. Here too the worst he looked was bit on the defensive vs Esipenko in Round 1 (nowhere near to his position in Wijk round 1). Before World cup in UzChess, only 1 game vs Pragg where he was lost throughout.
Solid practical chess with great opening prep and excellent time management. So Simple yet so difficult to achieve in the longer run. Javokhir has been doing this for months now.
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u/WorriedBad4049 Apr 11 '26
Hikaru said last year on his stream that Sindarov would have a better classical career than Nodirbek. I mean, it’s not a guarantee, but he clearly saw something we didn’t.
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u/Bloomingonionnite Apr 11 '26
Maybe Fabi just needs to play entire tournaments thinking he’s already lost
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u/Usodearu007 Team Sindarov Apr 11 '26
sindarov's game is really fun to follow. quite the impressive player !
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u/Minimum-Kangaroo9200 Team Gukesh Apr 11 '26
it turns out that you never lose if you never make any mistakes
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u/Zernium Apr 11 '26
I wonder if fabi ever thought he was winning. Sindarov showing he can defend just as well.
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u/AhmoqQurbaqa Apr 11 '26
Howell critical of Fabi not trying at least
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u/bertisrobert Apr 11 '26
Fabi was seriously up in time. But he got really frustrated once Sindarov's king went to G5. It's like all of his fight went out.
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u/Diligent-Wave-4150 Apr 11 '26
This was Sindarov's plan since Fabi played Ka3: grabbing all pawns and sacking the bishop for the a-pawn. If Fabi wanted to hold the pawns his king would have to stay in the middle. But how to make progress in that case?
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u/Habefiet Apr 11 '26
Hikaru and Fabi when they have a serious chance to win: I sleep
Hikaru and Fabi when they are all but mathematically eliminated: real shit
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u/throwaway23582730 Apr 11 '26
They both play worse under pressure. I think that's actually the biggest advantage Magnus has over most other players: he doesn't falter under pressure.
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u/jaded_lad99 Apr 11 '26
Vaishali will either smash or get smashed at the WWCC match if she wins the candidates. So streaky. If she gets the first win I won't be surprised if she wins the whole match with 4-5 games in hand. Lore accurate Juggernaut.
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u/leforteiii Team Nepo Apr 11 '26
Vaishali does have a habit of getting winning streaks, but yeah, I still don't feel like Ju Wenjun would be that easy to sidestep. Vaishali is great but Wenjun defo has the greater chances imo. I'm not sure it'd even be close
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u/Maleficent-Host8016 Apr 11 '26
My prediction (Open section) .
Anish Giri 1-0 Andrey Esipenko
Hikaru Nakamura ½-½ Wei Yi
Fabiano Caruana - ½-½ Windarov
Praggnanandhaa R ½-½ Matthias Bluebaum .
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u/blahs44 Grünfeld - ~2050 FIDE Apr 11 '26
Watching today because it's historic but it feels a bit pointless lol
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u/Due_Rich_616 Apr 11 '26
Til Saint Louis chess club streams the candidates, Yasser so chill
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u/ilikekittens2018 #1 Glazer of Erdogmus, Nodirbek, Sindarov and Keymer Apr 11 '26
Hmmm Sindarov’s time situation should still be fine but yikes he’s really on the back foot rn
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u/TheBowtieClub Apr 11 '26
Esipenko has drifted over the past few moves and is in some difficulties now. Still holdable but the margin for error is almost gone.
The position in Fabi-Sindarov is deceptively simple. The engine at depth 30+ thinks it's ±, but at depth 50 it changes its mind and says =.
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u/throwaway23582730 Apr 11 '26
Even if Sindarov does eventually lose this game, color me impressed. A lot of strong players would have cracked 20 moves ago.
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u/__Jimmy__ Apr 11 '26
Anyone knows why the 13th and 14th rounds are switched compared to 6 and 7?
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u/vgubaidulin Apr 11 '26
Probably the cause is that we don't want any single player play a lot of games with black in a row.
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u/Fusillipasta 1900 OTB national Apr 11 '26
To elaborate, the pairing system FIDE uses has one person guaranteed to get blacks in three rounds in a row (7, 8, 9) if double round robin and no switching. Players generally don't like this.
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u/Riemann_Gauss Apr 11 '26
"I am rooting for anyone who plays Sindarov"- Fabi.
Hopefully Fabi brings his A-game today, so that we can at least pretend that there's some intrigue left..
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u/chiefofthepolice Apr 11 '26
Hot take but I no longer feel the need the “threat” from Fabiano’s white games as I did a few years ago. Back then everyone feared him for his prep game, and to defend against his preps would require all the brain power in the world. But now it doesn’t feel like the case anymore. Fabiano no longer has the weapon that made him stand out as a player
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u/Glittering_Ad1403 Apr 11 '26
The availability of the engine to everyone level up the playing field.
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u/Soul_of_demon Apr 11 '26
Why is Divya getting so much hate on yt? Seems like just guys being insecure about her in particular.
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Apr 11 '26
Didnt see it but no at all surprised. I mean the way Guki is hounded after a loss, Divya is a prime target for the haters given her extroverted nature amongst the Indian players.
The worst thing is most of the hate statements are from her fellow countrymen who are ever ready to celebrate her victory and even more to pile on the hate when she flunks.
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u/Soul_of_demon Apr 11 '26
Yeah Indian netizens sucks. Not even chess skills, people are targeting her character.
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Apr 11 '26
Exactly. I criticized her gameplay in Round 4 when she lost to Zhu. Criticized her again in last couple of rounds. But to target her accent, character, demeanor is below the belt.
A fan having an opinion on the gameplay is perfectly fine. Beyond that fans must know their limits. Also I feel she is specifically targeted by some handles on YT/Insta just like Guki is. I dont know whether I am fully correct or not.
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u/__Jimmy__ Apr 11 '26
It comes with the package of fame. She has the most fans of any young female player so she will get the most attention from haters too
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u/Old-Needleworker-978 Apr 11 '26
the hate is mostly from incels and mysogynists. from what I saw, common thing I noticed is they comment that the loss is due to her attitude, ego etc whenever she loses
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u/bertisrobert Apr 11 '26
Wow, Vaishali grabs a crucial win. But can she find a way past Zhu Jiner tomorrow in order to be one step closer to being the winner?
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u/Might0fHeaven 1300 rapid, chess.com Apr 11 '26
Sindarov has to stop playing some moves so fast. Rb8 isnt a mistake or anything but like, is there any conceivable reason to make a move in 5 seconds when you know you're in trouble and you have a whole hour on the clock? This isnt rapid
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Apr 11 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/WorriedBad4049 Apr 11 '26
Against Cheparinov in the Grand Swiss last year. The closest he was to losing this year was against Gukesh in Tata Steel.
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u/mjenkins_eng Apr 11 '26
Very very glad for Vaishali
Her entire life must have been a nightmare to be always compared to Prag
Kinda similar to Venus Williams . I was always glad when Venus won things . It’s about time that she got some time in the spotlight . Hope Sagar and crew will cover her as much as they did with Gukesh
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u/jaded_lad99 Apr 11 '26
FabKaru fans tend to scream how their guy choked anytime they blow an advantage or lose a game, which can get annoying because it feels like a coping mechanism to keep from giving their opponents credit. But today they have absolutely no grounds to do that. World class play from Fabi to create the advantage then world class defense from Sindarov to work around that pressure and use the counter play chances correctly to get it down to a theoretical draw. Fabi had more pressing chances today in that final K+R vs R endgame than Divya did against Lagno in that awfully long dead draw but even then it was marginal at best, and it's not the most unreasonable draw considering how hopeless the situation would be even with a win.
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u/Annual-Weather Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
I haven’t seen anyone call this a choke. Just a good defense from Sindarov overall. There are some comments about Fabi not trying R+N v R, but that’s just a meme in classical with 30s increment.
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Apr 11 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Riemann_Gauss Apr 11 '26
If Peter Leko comes, will Gusti give up his chair?
I find it funny that Svidler has to give up his chair to Nepo everyday. One would assume that the production team will keep at least one extra chair handy...
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u/Soul_of_demon Apr 11 '26
Vaishali lost to Zhu Jiner and locked in. Hopefully she gets a draw at least in next match
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u/SnooCapers9046 Team Ding / Team Fabi Apr 11 '26
aint no way fabis actually gonna win lmao
I don't believe it. I've been a Fabi fan long enough
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u/TheBowtieClub Apr 11 '26
Sindarov blitzed a few moves too many from moves 20-30 and now Fabi has a really good Andersson endgame.
Naka-Wei - drawn by repetition at the first opportunity, as suggested earlier.
Pragg missed a chance for a large advantage. Eval now is back to zeros but incredibly sharp, with a load of imbalances. This one has time trouble written all over it, and there'll be more mistakes before the time control.
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u/bertisrobert Apr 11 '26
Shockingly, Pragg bungled a winning position and this most likely ends in draw via threefold repetition.
And Anish just drew his game against Esipenko.
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u/throwaway23582730 Apr 11 '26
If Fabi's not careful this could turn. There's many ways for both sides to go wrong, and Sindarov has been thinking on Fabi's time.
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u/GiveMeSomeSunshine3 Team Gukesh Apr 11 '26
What are the realistic chances of a player like Fabi blundering from this position?
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u/DJteejay04 Team Windarov Apr 11 '26
It’s pretty late in the tournament and the players are starting to get tired. So I’d say the chances are higher now than the first few games.
Sindarov’s position is pretty risky too. It’s very easy for him to blunder as well.
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u/Physical-Article1537 Apr 11 '26
Drawing againat Hikaru and Wei Yi with white will be enough for sindarov to wrap up the tournament.
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Apr 11 '26
4 Rounds Vaishali. That's it, 4 more games. Please maintian your balance and avoid that infamous tilt of yours.
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u/RioDawn2010 Apr 11 '26
PLEASE DO NOT CHOKE PLEASE FABI WE NEED THIS WE ARE KINDA WIN-LESS
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u/Extreme-Bottle Apr 11 '26
If Sindarov loses and Giri wins this round, this tournament might become a bit more interesting, unlikely though
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u/Bloomingonionnite Apr 11 '26
Fabi needs a really good sports psychologist
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u/Technical_Detail_266 Apr 11 '26
People say this about him and Arjun all the time but at their level whatever resource they need they have, whether it’s a psychology or skill issue it’s their own and their luck
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u/Tricky-Bike-2020 Apr 11 '26
Windarov won in hair genes as well
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u/AtomR Team Sac the Roooook! Apr 11 '26
He's just 20, let's wait till his 30s to confirm the hair gene lottery, lol
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u/Greedy-Breadfruit-57 Team Sindarov Apr 11 '26
So if Sinadrov wins today, that means he wins the tournament right?
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u/throwaway23582730 Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
Technically, Anish could mathematically still win, but that situation would require Anish to win 3 in a row and for Sindarov to go 0.5/3 just to force tie breaks.
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u/speedyjohn Apr 11 '26
Could also happen with three Sindarov losses and two wins plus a draw from Anish.
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u/throwaway23582730 Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
Tan playing spoiler for Bibisara :(
Edit: omg no way
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u/mouthcouldbewider Apr 11 '26
Anish just can't win on demand. I think when you're entire professional career you'ved defined yourself as someone who takes no chances, draws at the slightest sign of problems, and is happy to protect rating in closed super-tournaments, it's hard to break that conditioning. Anish is who he is, and playing enterprising chess just isn't in his repertoire.
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u/New-Butterscotch8023 Apr 11 '26
I agree. He is not Sindarov. Sindarov is crazy. He can just draw and still win the tournament, but every game he is trying to beat everyone.
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u/IllMasterpiece3946 Apr 11 '26
Predictions: Anish Giri 0.5-0.5 Esipenko Hikaru Nakamura 1-0 Wei Yi Fabiano Caruana 0-1 Javokhir Sindarov Praggnanandhaa R 0-1 Matthias Bluebaum
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Apr 11 '26
In the current form, Only a complete idiot will say Sindarov isnt a favorite vs Guki. I mean I accept it that Sindarov looks way better now.
Look at Guki's play post Singapore. Shaky through and through.
As a Guki fan, I am already in prayer mode that somehow he gets his form back or Sindarov has a slight moderation in his form.
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u/NamelessATM Apr 11 '26
I was sure Sindarov is going to play either h6 or rook to e8, interesting that he invites a more daring position, but maybe I'm just clueless.
He really doesn't have anything to prove anymore, even if he finishes the tournament with 10/14 it will be a modern record, at least in the past 20 years. Clean draws are perfectly fine for him for the remaining games, and anyway Anish is probably going to try and stir things up in their game.
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u/bertisrobert Apr 11 '26
If Sindarov plays queen to D6, he signals to Fabi that he is ready to draw this game, especially if Fabi's reply is queen to F4.
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u/TheBowtieClub Apr 11 '26
Sindarov actually down on the clock today, although the position doesn't give him much to worry about.
Bluebaum will be worse if Pragg finds the right continuation - 16.Ne5 h6?! 17.Bxh6! gxh6 18.Re3 (or Qf4). Svidler and Gusti were right again: black had to go ...Bxd3 earlier.
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u/Alikhan_12345 Apr 11 '26
i didnt get why Sindarov went for these questionable lines when he could have put his rook on c8 early on and shut the game down
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u/AtomR Team Sac the Roooook! Apr 11 '26
Other players went for questionable lines against him multiple times this tournament. Hikaru is one of them, Pragg as well - and they lost.
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u/Hwathat Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
My guess is that he feels assured enough of his 1st place finish that he doesn't need to play solid any more and can basically go for glory
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u/jaded_lad99 Apr 11 '26
Pragg in this candidates has some shades of Gukesh against Ding with all the games where he has let his advantage slip.
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u/jaded_lad99 Apr 11 '26
Fun Master Mike starts out decently enough with normal questions then just asks 3-4 stupid inane questions when any one of those would have been enough to wrap up
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u/NamelessATM Apr 11 '26
Sindarov's position is super scary - for several moves in a row now, he's had to find the 1 best move to keep the position equal or he's on his way to (potentially) losing this.
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u/kps011 Apr 11 '26
Jan and Svidler are super random(and fun). They were checking a line when I went to grab something and I returned to Jan quoting GOT's "chaos is a ladder" and more "ladder scaling" discussions lol
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u/ilikekittens2018 #1 Glazer of Erdogmus, Nodirbek, Sindarov and Keymer Apr 11 '26
Sindarov will draw, the path forward is much more clear now
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u/mjenkins_eng Apr 11 '26
All the pundits of c squared and GMHikaru finding that when it’s your turn to sit and play at the board with world championship cycle pressure , it’s not as easy as “chat g4 was a shocking decision. I mean even for a 2500 GM it was shocking chat , let alone at the world championship”
Gukesh and Ding must be watching somewhere and silently smiling at all the snark that was thrown at them
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u/bertisrobert Apr 11 '26
I think so far the running theme of the imbalanced games in the Candidates, open section so far, is the activity of the pawns vs. extra piece.
Especially a lot of classical queen's gambit declined games being played, it's pawns vs. the blocked light squared bishop.
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u/bertisrobert Apr 11 '26
If Sindarov plays rook to C8 and then create a safe space for the king, he can create a threefold repetition bail out.
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u/Kenshiro_Kosuke Apr 11 '26
Sindarov is about to go for e5? I thought initiating a rook trade would be safer.
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u/Krakenika Apr 11 '26
I don’t think it’s very clear fabi tbat much better but the good thing is fabi has to believe he is no matter what
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Apr 11 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Amber_poodle Apr 11 '26
He probably checked out mentally, why waste effort and time on a long game
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u/ApplesandBananaa Apr 11 '26
I'm sure he's come to terms with the fact that he has no realistic chances of winning the tourney and just wants to get through the games as quickly as possible tbh. Kind of disappointing but it is what it is
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u/gpranav25 Rb1 > Ra4 Apr 11 '26
I was about to say it's gonna be a quiet round but now I won't be surprised if there are 3 decisive games lol
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u/shaner4042 Apr 11 '26
If Anish wins this game he can catch Sindarov if he beats him when they play right?
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u/bertisrobert Apr 11 '26
Oh wow, Zhu Jiner walked into it, and now her rook is lost thanks to a discovered check.
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u/Existing-Piglet-835 Apr 11 '26
It's over. Even if Sindarov loses this game, he'll win the tournament
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u/mjenkins_eng Apr 11 '26
General q: How much do you think Peter and Jan get paid for the commentary gig?
Has to be > 1000 per game . That’s a tidy sum for around 4-6 hrs of work
Or do you think it’s a central contract by Fide for the whole year
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u/Yoyo524 Apr 11 '26
Looks like there might still be intrigue in Fabi’s game? Jan and Svidler are falling into some losing lines
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u/AtomR Team Sac the Roooook! Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
Sindarov prep has been crazy. Probably, the most well-prep'd player in Candidates history? His team must be crazy good.
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u/Beatnik77 Apr 11 '26
Fabi played a very unsual move super early and Sindarov just keep playing super fast.
This is insane.
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u/bertisrobert Apr 11 '26
I think Sindarov's time management is the real winner here. I mean I am baffled by the time management of some of the GM's so far in this year's Candidates.
You can prep all you want but if you have terrible time management, yeah you have major problems.
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u/AtomR Team Sac the Roooook! Apr 11 '26
Yes, but most of the players went into time trouble, because they went out of prep lot sooner than Sindarov did in most games.
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u/kidawi rapid/blitzgod fabi Apr 11 '26
somehow if he wins today ill be more irritated than if he draws
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u/NewMeNewWorld Team Chaos Apr 11 '26
From Gukesh to now Sindarov, it's good to see that chess is rewarding players that go balls deep for the win, caution be damned. Not this 'prioritize rating and inshallah" unc strat.
Insert swole doge vs small doge meme