R Vaishali and Divya Deshmukh rekindled their 2026 FIDE Women’s Candidates hopes with victories, while R Praggnanandhaa fell further away from the leader in Round 6 of the tournament on Saturday.
In an eventful day that saw contrasting emotions for Indian players, the women remained a point of the lead while Praggnanandhaa was 2.5 points off the pace at the end of Round 6.
Divya, Vaishali back in the mix
Vaishali kept her hopes of winning the 2026 Women’s Candidates alive with an impressive win over Kateryna Lagno. Facing up to a Bishop’s Opening (Berlin, Vienna Hybrid Variation) with black pieces, Vaishali came out with a mostly even game, but the pair traded inaccuracies in the midgame. The contest went Vaishali’s way when Lagno blundered with her queen on move 29, allowing Vaishali to threaten with her bishop.
Lagno blundered with her queen once more on move 38, and that sealed the victory for Vaishali, who finished the game in the next ten moves.
Divya Deshmukh also came out on top after a topsy-turvy contest against Bibisara Assaubayeva with black. The Queen’s Gambit Declined (Cambridge Springs, Yugoslav Variation) opening saw both players come out even, with the game heading for a draw. However, Divya blundered with her rook and queen on moves 37 and 38, but it only served to throw her opponent off.
Assaubayeva responded with a couple of inaccuracies with her queen and pawn, allowing Divya to defend her king with her rook, and also later press home the advantage with her queen. 46 moves in, the Indian had her opponent down for the count and wrapped up victory.
With Anna Muzychuk also winning, that left five players locked a point behind (including Divya and Vaishali) as the Women’s Candidates takes on a thrilling note. Divya takes on Lagno with white tomorrow, while Vaishali faces Tan Zhongyi, also with white.
FIDE Candidates 2026 Women’s Round 6 results
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Zhu Jiner 0 – 1 Anna Muzychuk
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Bibisara Assaubayeva 0 – 1 Divya Deshmukh
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Tan Zhongyi 0.5 – 0.5 Aleksandra Goryachkina
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Kateryna Lagno 0 – 1 R Vaishali
FIDE Candidates 2026 Open Standings after Round 6
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Anna Muzychuk – 4
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Zhu Jiner – 3
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Aleksandra Goryachkina – 3
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Kateryna Lagno – 3
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Divya Deshmukh – 3
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R Vaishali – 3
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Tan Zhongyi – 2.5
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Bibisara Assaubayeva – 2.5
Pragg falls further away with draw against Nakamura
R Praggnanandhaa saw his hopes of winning the 2026 FIDE Candidates diminish further after a draw against Hikaru Nakamura. While a stalemate against the world no. 2 with black pieces is nothing to snort at, other results ensured Praggnanandhaa has a long way to go. Leader Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan defeated Wei Yi of China to extend his lead to 5.5 points, with Praggnanandhaa quite behind with 3 points of his own so far.
Nakamura began with the Nimzo-Indian Defense (St. Petersburg, Fischer Variation) to open the game, but Praggnanandhaa responded with unusual lines to bump his American opponent out of his preparation quite early, The pair traded both bishops, a knight and a pawn, but the position was quite even. Given their need for a victory to keep up with Sindarov, both players attempted to push but were stymied.
The writing was on the wall fairly early, and Praggnanandhaa accepted Nakamura’s offer of a draw with a threefold repetition to wrap up the game in only 23 moves. Elsewhere, Fabiano Caruana
The Indian faces Fabiano Caruana with white pieces tomorrow, which could prove pivotal in his faint chances of winning the Candidates.
FIDE Candidates 2026 Open Round 6 results
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Hikaru Nakamura 0.5 – 0.5 R Praggnanandhaa
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Fabiano Caruana 0.5 – 0.5 Andrey Esipenko
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Wei Yi 0 – 1 Javokhir Sindarov
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Anish Giri – Matthias Blübaum (ongoing)
FIDE Candidates 2026 Open Standings after Round 6
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Javokhir Sindarov – 5.5
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Fabiano Caruana – 4
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R Praggnanandhaa – 3
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Anish Giri – 2.5 (ongoing)
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Hikaru Nakamura – 2
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Wei Yi – 2
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Matthias Blübaum- 2 (ongoing)
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Andrey Esipenko – 2
