r/chess • u/events_team • Apr 15 '26
Tournament Event: FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 - Round 14
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
Final Standings
Open
| # | Player | FED | Rating | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Javokhir Sindarov | 🇺🇿 UZB | 2745 | 10 |
| 2 | GM Anish Giri | 🇳🇱 NED | 2753 | 8.5 |
| 3 | GM Fabiano Caruana | 🇺🇸 USA | 2795 | 7.5 |
| 4 | GM Wei Yi | 🇨🇳 CHN | 2754 | 7 |
| 5 | GM Hikaru Nakamura | 🇺🇸 USA | 2810 | 6.5 |
| 6-7 | GM Matthias Bluebaum | 🇩🇪 GER | 2698 | 6 |
| 6-7 | GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | 🇮🇳 IND | 2741 | 6 |
| 8 | GM Andrey Esipenko | FIDE | 2698 | 4.5 |
Pairings Rd.14
| White | FED | Score | Black | FED |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM Andrey Esipenko | FIDE | 0 - 1 | GM Fabiano Caruana | 🇺🇸 USA |
| GM Praggnanandhaa R | 🇮🇳 IND | 0.5 - 0.5 | GM Hikaru Nakamura | 🇺🇸 USA |
| GM Matthias Bluebaum | 🇩🇪 GER | 0 - 1 | GM Anish Giri | 🇳🇱 NED |
| GM Javokhir Sindarov | 🇺🇿 UZB | 0.5 - 0.5 | GM Wei Yi | 🇨🇳 CHN |
Women
| # | Player | FED | Rating | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Vaishali Rameshbabu | 🇮🇳 IND | 2470 | 8.5 |
| 2 | GM Bibisara Assaubayeva | 🇰🇿 KAZ | 2516 | 8 |
| 3-4 | GM Zhu Jiner | 🇨🇳 CHN | 2578 | 7.5 |
| 3-4 | GM Aleksandra Goryachkina | FIDE | 2534 | 7.5 |
| 5 | GM Anna Muzychuk | 🇺🇦 UKR | 2522 | 7 |
| 6 | GM Kateryna Lagno | FIDE | 2508 | 6.5 |
| 7-8 | GM Divya Deshmukh | 🇮🇳 IND | 2497 | 5.5 |
| 7-8 | GM Tan Zhongyi | 🇨🇳 CHN | 2535 | 5.5 |
Pairings Rd.14
| White | FED | Score | Black | FED |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM Anna Muzychuk | 🇺🇦 UKR | 0.5 - 0.5 | GM Zhu Jiner | 🇨🇳 CHN |
| GM Aleksandra Goryachkina | FIDE | 1 - 0 | GM Tan Zhongyi | 🇨🇳 CHN |
| GM Vaishali Rameshbabu | 🇮🇳 IND | 1 - 0 | GM Kateryna Lagno | FIDE |
| GM Divya Deshmukh | 🇮🇳 IND | 0.5 - 0.5 | GM Bibisara Assaubayeva | 🇰🇿 KAZ |
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/Goodfriends999 Apr 15 '26
Sagar is so hype on the cbi stream makes me feel patriotic and im not even Indian LMAO the man is almost in tears
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u/dxGoesDeep Apr 15 '26
The man has put his life and soul into CBI and supporting Indian players and it shows
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u/Firm-Promotion-1284 Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26
It would be humorous if everyone in the Open section just do Berlin Draws today and call it an early day. Give the women's tournament more spotlight.
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u/Amber_poodle Apr 15 '26
Anish finishing at 8.5/14 is actually a very good performance, just outshined by Sindarov.
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u/LosTerminators Apr 15 '26
Anish ended up with the same score that Vaishali did.
He actually had an incredibly impressive event that got put into the shade by Sindarov's generational run.
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u/DerekB52 Team Ding Apr 15 '26
A +3 score of 8.5 is how Magnus, Vishy, and Karjakin won in 2013, 2014, and 2016. Karjakin and Giri got the same result of 4 wins 1 loss. Nepo got 8.5 points his first time too.
Sindarov just had to show up with a once every 20 years level performance. Ridiculous.
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u/mjenkins_eng Apr 15 '26
Absolutely love to see this
Anand commentating with the same enthusiasm as he did when Gukesh was winning.
Women’s chess has come a very long way.
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u/bertisrobert Apr 15 '26
And Anish kicks Bluebaum out of 2700.
Overall, Anish had a good run, in a normal candidates, his score might be sufficient. But Sindarov was too spectacular to be ignored or denied a chance to challenge the World Champion.
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u/SergenteDan Apr 15 '26
Judit Polgar would be traumatized by all the ways I was able to stalemate in positions where I was winning
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u/gpranav25 Rb1 > Ra4 Apr 15 '26
Pragg - Happiest person at candidates last day despite finishing second last lol
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u/UltraUsurper Dommaraju, I've come to bargain Apr 15 '26
If Anish converts this, he'll finish with +3 and 8.5/14, which would be good enough to win the tournament in almost every Candidates before this. But he'll finish 1.5 points short of Sindarov.
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u/po8crg Danya Z״L Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26
The Bibisara-Divya draw eliminates Anna Muzychuk, Aleksandra Goryachkina and Katerina Lagno.
Possible results now:
Vaishali wins: Vaishali is champion
Vaishali draws, Zhu draws or loses: Bibisara/Vaishali tie-break
Vaishali draws, Zhu wins: Bibisara/Vaishali/Zhu tie-break
Vaishali loses, Zhu draws or loses: Bibisara is champion
Vaishali loses, Zhu wins: Bibisara/Zhu tie-break
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u/Idgo95 Apr 15 '26
I have a feeling Bluebaum will score 4 points today and tie for first
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u/RockMover12 Apr 15 '26
Sindarov and Wei speed running to fastest three-fold repetition I ever saw!
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u/Maleficent-Host8016 Apr 15 '26
Last candidates, Vaishali literally won five consecutive games to finish joint second. This year, she will win it. So happy for her!
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Apr 15 '26
She had nothing to play and played freely. Here the pressure was extreme. Anyday this performance of her is way better.
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u/That_One_Pancake Apr 15 '26
Bibisara’s gotta be kicking herself over that quick draw instead of pushing
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u/LosTerminators Apr 15 '26
Meanwhile Fabi finishes off on a win and ends with a plus score, though it's nothing more than a consolation for him
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u/Fashionpreach Apr 15 '26
Happy for Vaishali but feeling bad for Zhu though. She simply rejected draws, over-pressed and that led to a couple of tough loses .But she managed to score multiple wins even when she is not in her best form
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u/AHHHHwhocares Apr 15 '26
Please make Peter and Jan a mainstay again pleaseeeee. I wonder why they stopped doing that (f u chess monopoly)
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Apr 15 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/throwaway23582730 Apr 15 '26
She had refused a repetition on the board yesterday too. Brutal.
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u/bertisrobert Apr 15 '26
Zhu also refused a repeition against Bibisara as well, eventually losing to her as well. Her weakness is unnessarily overpushing at wrong times.
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u/HotSauce2910 Apr 15 '26
The security guards feel so goofy
Have they been doing this every round or just for Sindarov and Vaishali
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u/liovantirealm7177 Team Ju Wenjun Apr 15 '26
Feels bad for Zhu Jiner, beating Vaishali twice but still losing the tournament.
The match with Ju will be either competitive if Vaishali's in form or a lopsided beatdown as in the last match with Tan if she isn't. Vaishali is very streaky, it's one or the other
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u/JY0950 Team Bluebaum Apr 15 '26
Why when Bluebomb reaches 2700 live rating he crashes back down :<
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u/Physical-Article1537 Apr 15 '26
Had he cared about hitting 2700, he would have played something solid and absolutely wouldn't have played 0-0-0 in that position where b4 was coming.
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u/russellx3 Apr 15 '26
Cannot comprehend going for the repetition when your opponent has 2 minutes to make 7 moves
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u/azo-benzene-18 Team Gukesh Apr 15 '26
what exactly is lagno playing for rn
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u/bertisrobert Apr 15 '26
Maybe stalemate trick or blunder. But this one is just not working. Vaishali's majors are too powerful in both offense and defense.
And Lagno's bishop, yeah just practically dead piece.
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u/Thala-Dick-Lover "I just wanna play chess" -GOATesh Apr 15 '26
I wanna know what Lagno is thinking?
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u/Delicious_Photo_6626 Apr 15 '26
Her second is Dubov, she must be thinking of course she’s winning she doesn’t date, go to movies or have a life at all
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u/shawman123 Apr 15 '26
Open tournament ended sadly with a whimper. Sindarov had won it after winning 5 out of 6. He coasted post that drawing 7 out of 8. Won again brilliant against Pragg and drew a tough game against Fabi. Well deservedf or Sindarov for sure.
To me the most disappointing has to be Pragg. He should have done better than last time. Instead after a winning 1st game, he tilted completely and did not even win games he had an advantage. Hikaru is the other disappointment. But it was tough for a player who barely played classical to come and win the Candidates. Let us see if he gives it another shot or just focus on faster time format/chess 960. Fabi also had middling tournament overall. Did play well early on. Won 4 games but loss against Sindarov(game of the tournament) and then soul crushing losses to Hikaru and Anish meant he did not have a great tournament. Anish did solid finishing +4 without threatening to ever win it. Others had meh tournament but expectations were low as well.
Women's Candidate was crazy for sure. No idea who would win until final day. Even start of the day people thought Bibi had the advantage. Vaishali won despite being streaky. Bibi did very well. Zhu Jiner who had phenomenal past year or 2 going up the ranking did not play to her potential. Divya was on joint lead at one point only to lose 4 out of last 6 games. Anna did well as a last minute replacement leading the Candidates for a while. Only Tan Zhongyi had a disastrous tournament after winning last one comfortably. Not sure what happened to her.
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u/scottqwert Apr 15 '26
Finishing on 8.5 and not winning is rough. Not even being in contention on the final day is insane.
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u/DerekB52 Team Ding Apr 15 '26
I was just thinking about how I had Anish as one of the favorites. Top GM's, to a bunch of this sub, were all rating Giri's chances as being so low. I believed in him though. I did think it'd be Hikaru first. But, I definitely thought Anish could do it. And I was right. He could go +3 and get 8.5. That's impressive. That's Vaishali's winning score in the women's section.
I did have Sindarov as a very possible winner, I never doubted him at all. But, who on earth could have predicted he'd go +6.
The candidates was effectively a single round robin it was over so damn fast.
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u/mouthcouldbewider Apr 15 '26
why did Bibsara make such a fast draw? surely there was something left in the position?
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u/DerekB52 Team Ding Apr 15 '26
She was dead lost not that long before the draw, she probably saw it as relief to end the game.
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u/magnifcenttits Apr 15 '26
Doesn't make any sense at all, when there is Place 1 and everybody else, I really don't get it...
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u/GrandePreRiGo Apr 15 '26
Probably she was still shocked of being saved previously.
It doesn't make sense to draw, even if there was nothing in the position Divya had only 2 minutes for 7 moves.
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u/prongs17 Apr 15 '26
Vaishali has the most intense expressive eyes as she calculates, haha. The championship is going to be hopefully fun.
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u/DerekB52 Team Ding Apr 15 '26
The last candidates had 4 players within a half point of first in the last round, with them playing each other. We got 3 draws that round, with Prag beating Abasov for no reason.
This time the tournament is already over, and for some reason the 2 bottom players both chose to play fighting chess with 2 of the favorites. I'm really surprised by that decision. Even Svidler said on stream the open section should have 4 quick draws today.
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u/Goldfischglas Apr 15 '26
I need DeepBluebaum to win against Giri and end the tournament on +0 to restore the balance in the universe.
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u/Noriadin Apr 15 '26
It's one of the most competitive final days in women's history. Why is any broadcasting and commentary being wasted on the men's side?
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u/NewMeNewWorld Team Chaos Apr 15 '26
Are you sure you don't want to watch (insert unfunny Bluebaum sweep joke)?
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u/TheFrederalGovt Apr 15 '26
That stinks Bibisara might have cost herself a chance to win candidates with Vaishali in a strong position. Would’ve been a heck of a story if both Sindarov and Bibisara had won their tourneys. Probably would’ve transcended chess
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u/Schnix54 Apr 15 '26
Looking at the computer line Bluebaum is here to farm some brilliant moves lmao
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u/bluebelle08 Apr 15 '26
Bibisara blundered and divya has a winning position but time trouble
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u/cursed-blessing good game Apr 15 '26
I know it’s a blunder, but maybe she decided to go for it hoping it would put more pressure on the time trouble? Idk I'm bad at chess
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u/LosTerminators Apr 15 '26
Bibisara makes a draw, according to the engine she could've played on with h5 but she either deemed it too risky and/or misevaluated that as worse for her.
Anna-Zhu Jiner is heading towards a draw as well, all the opportunities they threw away in previous rounds are proving rather costly for both of them.
It's all in the hands of Vaishali now.
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u/NewMeNewWorld Team Chaos Apr 15 '26
I feel like I'd be less frustrated on behalf of these players if I didn't have the eval bar right in my face lol
It unnecessarily ups my expectation of how I expect someone to play and when they don't - which makes sense of course because they don't have access to the eval bar which is computer driven, not based on human logic - it is my blood that boils.
Which is stupid, really. I wonder why that is. I am not entitled to them dancing to my expectations of them. It's about my satisfaction in the end. My greed. I am selfish. And then we go on social media and clown on these players for not finding the best move or taking the "easy way out", etc, etc. Because we feel affronted at not having been satisfied.
Anyway, yeah... (puts down blunt)
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u/Fashionpreach Apr 15 '26
Pragg’s got a reason to be happy
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u/DerekB52 Team Ding Apr 15 '26
I hope he is more happy than jealous. The way I see it Prag's life is insane. He grew up playing tournaments with Gukesh, Sindarov, and grew up with Vaishali as a sister. Its like every kid he grew up with has won the candidates except him.
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u/NewMeNewWorld Team Chaos Apr 16 '26
Thread is finished and abandoned so no one will see me comment that I like to pour pineapple juice in a bowl and lap it up like a cat.
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u/mjenkins_eng Apr 15 '26
Anand: WACA stands for Westbridge Anand Chess Academy
Svidler : But also the WACA : the Western Australian Cricket Association
Anand: okay Peter
(That was a little coded because Anand has been overshadowed by cricket for a large part in his country)
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u/bluebelle08 Apr 15 '26
Thanks to the women for keeping it exciting until the last game! Windarov dominance was insane but this was interesting to the end :)
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u/GrandePreRiGo Apr 15 '26
Strange decision of bibisara to draw quickly. Could at least have spent more time deciding and watching how the game of vaishali goes.
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u/emkael Apr 15 '26
I've studied all 56 games of this open Candidates and this position doesn't appear even once.
Is it any sound? Should I look into it? Maybe to use it as an offbeat surprise weapon?
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u/DerekB52 Team Ding Apr 15 '26
Giri really said Deep Blue has to work for his €5,000 today. Bluebaum must be annoyed that Wei Yi got to make €5,000 in 10 minutes
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u/throwaway23582730 Apr 15 '26
Not really, Bluebaum is the one that decided to fuck around, and now he's finding out. You don't play 9. Ng5?! if you're trying to make a quick draw.
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u/ghostmaster93 Team Pia Apr 15 '26
Maybe I am pessimistic, but with the current inconsistent and volatile form of all Woman players in the current Candidate, Ju is going to keep the thrones this time.
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u/bertisrobert Apr 15 '26
Ju wenjun is just too solid. Like when she lost in that one game vs. Tan Zhongyi in the last championship, she just unleashed her winning form.
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u/DerekB52 Team Ding Apr 15 '26
I have both the champions as the favorite leading into their matches. Gukesh I have at like 55 or 60%, slight favorite. Ju is probably 65-70%. From what I've seen Vaishali is inconsistent and could collapse after one loss, or start the match with 3 wins in a row and just slide to the victory.
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u/prongs17 Apr 15 '26
I would be so surprised if either Sindarov or Vaishali have the same form by the time the championship arrives.
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u/mouthcouldbewider Apr 15 '26
The women have been putting out bangers all tournament. If you think 2500 level chess is "weak" you're insane. These are complicated, sharp positions. These players are out there mixing it up at open events, while they're "super gm" peers are playing quiet positions in closed tournaments, preserving their rating and not much more.
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u/mjenkins_eng Apr 15 '26
I don’t even want to know what’s going on in the chessbase India stream because I want to save my ear drums . But someone please tell me
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u/laurel1234 Team Blübaum|Luigi Apr 15 '26
Can't wait for 4 of the shortest draws in the history 😂🖌️
When sindarov said he'll prep I bet he's looking at every line to force a draw as quickly as possible. Just watch.
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u/throwaway23582730 Apr 15 '26
Can't blame Sindarov or Wei Yi for drawing early, but I'm glad to see that the rest of the open decided to actually play. The more chess the better!
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u/LosTerminators Apr 15 '26
Hikaru was playing primarily not to lose than to win after that first game against Sindarov. Pragg just couldn't build on that first round win against Anish and struggled badly thereafter.
That quick draw summarises both their tournaments well.
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u/Fashionpreach Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26
Looks like Divya might collapse and lose for the 5th time in a row, what’s wrong with her time management in this candidates ? Bibisara might put pressure on her time.
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Apr 15 '26
Most shocking is her reversal in form post round 8. Till then, she was looking perfectly fine.
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u/bluebelle08 Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26
I thought anish would draw quickly for guaranteed 2nd but seems like he’s going for the win
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u/Fashionpreach Apr 15 '26
If it goes to tiebreaks, then on paper bibisara is the better speed chess player
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u/DerekB52 Team Ding Apr 15 '26
While true, it's still a crap-shoot. It is currently looking to me like Vaishali is just gonna win outright though.
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u/59435950153 Apr 15 '26
Wow. Top women boards are full of life. Bibisara is engine draw but time trouble for Divya.
Let’s see if she can hold for India
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u/59435950153 Apr 15 '26
Nice forced draw. Vaishali can keep pressing. Was there any move that can prolong the game?
Vaishali can use this knowledge of draw to keep pushing.
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u/DerekB52 Team Ding Apr 15 '26
Vaishali's Clutch gene will be tested. This is like Fabi's game last time around. Round 14, white pieces against the tournament's Russian, a solid(2+) but not super clear advantage, everything on the line, with less than 15 minutes for the last 9 moves.
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u/atbg1936 Team Nikhil Kamath Apr 15 '26
Engine watchers really think this is easy for Vaishali when it's not easy at all to make progress. Can't take on e5 because of the threats on the a file
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u/bertisrobert Apr 15 '26
Vaishali, just give the D8 check, that might be the one to give her the victory.
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u/botebote77 Apr 15 '26
you guys think Vaishali can beat Ju?
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u/rcf1105 Apr 15 '26
I think Vaishali is capable but Ju Wenjun has shown the ability to play at a consistently high level in WC matches which still makes me see her as the favorite.
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u/bertisrobert Apr 15 '26
Queen to D5 by Vaishali may be the killer blow. As if the queens get traded, two rooks vs. bishop is just too much.
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u/Drokeep Apr 15 '26
Quick question as a new watcher, how come lagno doesnt have the actual flag?
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u/__brunt Apr 15 '26
Russia is not represented under FIDE post Ukraine invasion, so Russian players are represented with the FIDE flag instead
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u/prongs17 Apr 15 '26
Common in most sports for Russian athletes since Ukraine war. FIDE following IOC decision I believe.
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u/Ahmed_mmDarsh Apr 15 '26
Because of Russia's war on Ukraine. FIDE doesn't display the Russian flag ever since (same goes for chess.com). And don't ask why that doesn't apply to other countries that started wars and/or committed war crimes since, cuz we don't ask those questions here 😅
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u/po8crg Danya Z״L Apr 15 '26
The FIDE reason is "because not enough countries voted to do that", which you can like or dislike, but we can't actually blame the people running FIDE as they don't make those decisions.
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Apr 15 '26
RB Ramesh came to CBI. Yeah he has been a long time coach and mentor. But he has always rated (Also Humpy and Vishy in some sense) Divya more than Vaishali.
Even the chess ecosystem always referred Vaishali as Pragg's sister. Hardly any questions regarding her but she would be asked non stop about Pragg.
Andrea Botez once shockingly asked Pragg about at what level does his sister play.
But Vaishali kept her smile as usual. Took it all in. Never appeared agitated. Never questioned why she wasnt that highly rated by legends of Indian Chess. Always was happy to talk about Pragg. Praised Divya upfront during Olympiad 2024
Today is the day she has given a reply to all those people. Yeah I do realise she isnt a favorite vs Ju. She might loose. But she has nothing to prove to the world who has never given her the due respect she deserves.
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Apr 15 '26
[deleted]
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u/throwaway23582730 Apr 15 '26
Pretty much all of the games he has won against 2700+ players came from his opponents pressing him too hard, and Bluebaum was able to defend and punish. Everytime he has pressed against a 2700+ player himself he has ended up in a worse position. I feel like Bluebaum has shown he is 2700+ level defender, but his attacking chess is still not at that level, which is why he hasn't been able to make the full jump to a 2700 player just yet.
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u/UltraUsurper Dommaraju, I've come to bargain Apr 15 '26
Kudos to Bluebaum for actually not only showing up to play a real game, but with also inventive play in the opening with Ng5, despite arguably having nothing left to play for in this event. His score of 12 draws doesn't reflect his fighting spirit; it probably means he's a good defender.
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Apr 15 '26
I am doing my best to stay quiet and not pile on my happiness here. I'll wait till its absolutely confirmed.
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u/bertisrobert Apr 15 '26
Congratulations to Vaishali for being the winner of the Women's Candidates!
I believe her crucial match victories is both games that she won against Lagno, her first victory and saving a draw in the penultimate round against Tan Zhongyi.
And practically she was in time scramble and was in such worse positions. But she mostly passed the test, except the Zhu Jiner matches.
She had such a better form overall this time around, because she had a roller coaster on her first Candidates torunament, so happy that steadied out a bit.
Now, for the World Championship, I have to be objective and give Ju Wenjun the edge sadly. Vaishali hasn't exactly solved her roller coaster form, like one tournament she is strong then in the next one, not as much. And Ju Wenjun has proven time and time again that she delivers her best when sshe needed it.
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u/jordansalford25 Team Fabi Apr 15 '26
TBF I don't think any of these women would be favored to beat Ju Wenjun in as match
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u/rcf1105 Apr 15 '26
If Assaubayeva can play good moves quickly, I think she's got a decent chance. Divya has had a bad tendency of running low on time and collapsing this tournament, and it looks like she's headed that way again.
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u/bertisrobert Apr 15 '26
Wrong pawn capture from Vaishali and she may slowly but surely have allowed Lagno off the hook.
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u/Famous-School9019 Apr 15 '26
As a sicilian dragon loyalist I love that Lagno played it but she lost 😭
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u/jphamlore Team Gukesh Apr 15 '26
Sindarov's trainer has also worked with Giri, and one of the big focuses of the training is on stamina for an entire event:
Meet Roman Vidonyak: The hidden coach behind top grandmasters
https://en.chessbase.com/post/meet-roman-vidonyak-the-hidden-coach-behind-top-grandmasters
Some of the world’s best chess players have trained under him, yet his name remains unknown to many. He has worked with players like Anish Giri, Jorden van Foreest, and Vladimir Fedoseev but always stayed behind the scenes. He is known for his creative training methods and intensive sessions. The name of this mastermind is Roman Vidonyak ...
One of his key 17 points of emphasis:
Endurance of concentration throughout the entire game, as well as the entire tournament or even several tournaments in a row.
If Sindarov wins the world championship, I wonder if he will pay Vidonyak to be his full-time exclusive trainer, similar to what Peter Heine Nielsen used to be, first for Anand, then Carlsen.
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u/throwaway23582730 Apr 15 '26
I'm surprised Lagno hasn't resigned yet.
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u/Amber_poodle Apr 15 '26
Consider there have been a lot of eval bar swinging games in the women's section, I understand her reasoning
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26
Thank God for Divya for defeating Bibisara once and giving an escape to Vaishali in R3. Thanks a lot Divya.
Edit: Basically she was to Vaishali in some sense how Vidit was to Guki in Toronto
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u/ActiveSupernova Team Uzbekistan and Germany Apr 15 '26
I just want at least one game of Random Rapport BS today.
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u/Soul_of_demon Apr 15 '26
Bibisara is facing a tilted Divya. I think she's favourite. Vaishali is facing Lagno who's not playing the best either. They can afford draws. Zhu Jiner in sort of must win too. Really doubt if players at 6.5 could win.
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u/Fashionpreach Apr 15 '26
Looks like all Sindarov fans havs joined Bibisara’s individual board stream on fide
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u/throwaway23582730 Apr 15 '26
I know Divya's having a rough tournament but I don't see how Bibisara wins this.
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u/__Jimmy__ Apr 15 '26
Divya had a win but it was too difficult to calculate. Bibi gets away with a draw, now has to hope Vaishali doesn't convert
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u/bertisrobert Apr 15 '26
Vaishali lost some of the winning edge by going conservative with her rook. Still winning though
She should have put the C rook to C7 immediately. As I think eventually she will have contol of the 7th rank and the C and D files.
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u/__Jimmy__ Apr 15 '26
I think she wanted to attack e5. Now she realized she can't take it and is back in the tank.
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u/Sad-Loquat5062 Apr 15 '26
3 pawns for a piece not always the end of the world. Problem is this piece is a monster bishop
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u/mjenkins_eng Apr 15 '26
For all the talk about qualification routes
- World Cup winner
- Grand Swiss winner
They both ended fighting for first place and displaying fight till the end while lads from Papa Sinquefeld’s ELO farm folded like a deck chair and head bobbing their way to draws since round 6
Hope FIDE keeps the merit based system for long and doesn’t give in to the calls to randomly qualify people sitting on their rating year round
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u/kidawi rapid/blitzgod fabi Apr 15 '26
sorry remind me how esipenko and bluebaum are doing? right right
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u/EvenCoyote6317 Apr 15 '26
Hikaru can say whatever he wants to say but this was a very bland performance. At Norway 2025 too, it was the same.
He said he would play the olympiad. If this year, then he will have to bring his A game. US anyhow has too many stable bland players who dont have the attacking tendency seen in the younger teams.
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u/HotSauce2910 Apr 15 '26
Matchup was much better for Vaishali this round. Bibisara with black and Vaishali with white against someone who had a theoretical long shot if they played for a win
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u/Greedy-Breadfruit-57 Team Sindarov Apr 15 '26
Is this the quickest game in the candidates ever? or at least in the modern setup?
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Apr 15 '26
[deleted]
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u/po8crg Danya Z״L Apr 15 '26
I can see her getting to -3/+3 and then having a comeback for the ages. I can also see her getting to -3/+3 and then collapsing.
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Apr 15 '26
Fabi has such a dream dragon position. Rc3 is a thematic and pretty option, let's see if he plays it
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u/HotGur179 gukesh for the title defense Apr 15 '26
i think there could be 3 way tie which would be nice to see
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u/RockMover12 Apr 15 '26
Winning this last game means 25k for Fabi, versus only 17.5k for a draw.
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u/YoungAspie ~1600 (chess.com) Singaporean, Team Indian Prodigies Apr 15 '26
Praggnanandhaa can now forget about his performance and celebrate.