FIDE Candidates 2026: R Vaishali beats Divya Deshmukh in round 9

GM Rameshbabu Vaishali defeated Divya Deshmukh in an all-Indian ninth-round match-up at the 2026 FIDE Women's Candidates in Cyprus, on Wednesday.

With this win, she moved into a tied lead alongside Zhu Jiner of China, who defeated Kateryna Lagno in her round. Both players now have 5.5 points from 9 games.

Playing with the white pieces, Vaishali outclassed her younger compatriot in the middle game of the English opening, showcasing her aggressive play with multiple sacs.

The World Cup champion Divya couldn't recover from her early mistakes and resigned after 31 moves, dropping down in standings to joint 4th place with 4.5 points.

In the next round, Vaishali will take on Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine, while Divya is set to face Aleksandra Goryachkina of Russia on Thursday.

In the open section, GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa played out a draw with the Chinese grandmaster Wei Yi after 56 moves in a Queen's Gambit Declined Variation.

With the white pieces, he had a big advantage in the middle game, but then he missed his chances and, after a couple of inaccuracies, could not push for a win.

Following the draw, he stayed in joint 4th place with 4 points from 9 games, three points behind the leader Javokhir Sindarov, whom he will face in the next round on Thursday.