Chess
FIDE Candidates 2026: R Vaishali takes the sole lead after round 10
She played out a draw with Anna Muzychuk and is now leading the women's section with 6 points from 10 games.
R Vaishali takes the sole lead at the2026 FIDE Women's Candidates. (FILE PHOTO: FIDE Chess)
GM Rameshbabu Vaishali continued her good form and attained a 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 with 6 points from 10 games.
She played a solid defensive game with Anna in an Italian game and, with a high accuracy rate, forced a draw in the pawn-bishop endgame after 42 moves.
The World Cup champion Divya suffered her second consecutive defeat in round 10 against Aleksandra Goryachkina of Russia and has dropped down to 7th position with 4.5 points.
The competition will enter its third rest day before the next round, 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 after 53 moves in a Queen's Gambit Declined Variation.
Playing with the black pieces, he had a steady start, but then at move 22, he made a blunder and lost his queen with the exchange of two rooks.
This was enough for the in-form Sindarov, who played a solid game and converted it into a win, taking a full 2-point lead on the chasing pack with just four rounds to go.
Meanwhile, Praggnanandhaa dropped down to 7th place with just 4 points from 10 games, ending his quest for the Candidates title here in Cyprus.