Cyprus: The battle for supremacy at the FIDE Candidates 2026 intensified after Round 4, with Javokhir Sindarov surging into sole lead, while R Praggnanandhaa settled for a steady draw and India’s women contenders faced mixed fortunes.
Praggnanandhaa, recovering from his Round 3 defeat, played cautiously with the black pieces against Germany’s Matthias Blübaum. Opting for the Slav Defence, the Indian Grandmaster neutralised any early pressure but found limited opportunities to push for advantage.
The contest drifted into a balanced middlegame before ending in a threefold repetition after 37 moves, leaving both players on two points after four rounds.
However, the spotlight shifted to Sindarov, who continued his impressive run by defeating Fabiano Caruana. The young Uzbek now leads the standings with 3.5 points, a full point ahead of Caruana, and has already registered wins over several strong contenders. Praggnanandhaa sits in the chasing pack on two points, alongside Blübaum and Anish Giri, with ten rounds still to play.
Elsewhere in the Open section, Giri strengthened his position with a victory over Andrey Esipenko, while Wei Yi and Hikaru Nakamura shared the spoils.
In the Women’s Candidates, it was a difficult day for Divya Deshmukh, whose campaign suffered a setback following a loss to China’s Zhu Jiner. A problematic opening and missed defensive opportunities allowed Zhu to build sustained pressure, eventually converting her advantage for her first win of the tournament. Divya now has 1.5 points and has slipped down the standings.
Meanwhile, R Vaishali continued her string of draws, splitting the point with Aleksandra Goryachkina. After spending much of the game defending, Vaishali opted for safety in the endgame despite a slight computer-evaluated edge, securing her fourth consecutive draw.
With the first rest day approaching, Sindarov’s commanding lead has become the central talking point. While the Indian contenders remain within striking distance, the challenge now is to halt the Uzbek prodigy’s momentum as the Candidates tournament enters its crucial middle phase.
Source: ESPN
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