FIDE Candidates 2026: R Vaishali takes sole lead after round 10

GM Rameshbabu Vaishali continued her good form and took the sole lead after Round 10 at the 2026 FIDE Women's Candidates in Cyprus, on Thursday.

She drew with Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine with the black pieces and is now leading the women's section by half-a-point. She currently sits at 6/10.

Vaishali put up a solid defensive show against Anna in an Italian game and forced a draw in the pawn-bishop endgame after 42 moves.

Meanwhile, the World Cup champion Divya suffered her second consecutive defeat, going down against Aleksandra Goryachkina of Russia. She has now dropped down to seventh spot in the standings with 4.5 points.

The competition will enter its third rest day before the 11th round on Friday, where Vaishali will take on Goryachkina and Divya will face Zhu Jiner of China.

In the open section, GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa suffered a defeat to the tournament leader Javokhir Sindarov in 53 moves in a Queen's Gambit Declined Variation.

Playing with the black pieces, he had a steady start but blundered on move 22, losing his queen for two rooks.

This was enough for the in-form Sindarov to convert and take a two-point lead with just four rounds left in the competition.

Praggnanandhaa dropped down to 7th place with just 4 points from 10 games, effectively bringing an end to his quest for the Candidates title here in Cyprus.