The Week in Chess

1. Sindarov on the brink of winning the Candidates after Round 12, Zhu beats Vaishali to catch her in the Women's event - 12

   Javokhir Sindarov was happy to take a quick draw against Hikaru Nakamura in Round 12 of the Candidates, in fact his entire preparation was directed towards it. Anish Giri was left trying to beat Wei Yi and he did in fact get a winning position in an endgame but it remained tricky. Giri accidentally repeated the position three times and Wei Yi was immediately alert to this. Matthias Bluebaum was slightly better against Fabiano Caruana but no more than that. Praggnanandhaa was pushing against Andrey Esipenko but had to settle with a draw. Following the rest day Giri will have to win against Sindarov in order to keep his chances alive.

   The women's event was blown wide open when Zhu Jiner beat the leader Vaishali Rameshbabu in a tense game, these players share the lead. Half a point behind are Bibisara Assaubayeva who won a game that could have gone either way, and Anna Muzychuk who blew a winning position against Aleksandra Goryachkina at the very end of a long game. The top four are still in it, I really wouldn't like to guess who is going to win as there are so many wild swings in form even during games by all the leaders.

   Round 12 (of 14) Standings: 1st Javokhir Sindarov, 9/12. 2nd Anish Giri, 7. 3rd Fabiano Caruana, 6. 4th-6th Matthias Bluebaum, Hikaru Nakamura and Yi Wei, 5½. 7th R Praggnanandhaa, 5. 8th Andrey Esipenko, 4½. 8 players.

   Round 12 (of 14) Standings: 1st-2nd Jiner Zhu and Rameshbabu Vaishali, 7/12. 3rd-4th Bibisara Assaubayeva and Anna Muzychuk, 6½. 5th-6th Aleksandra Goryachkina and Kateryna Lagno, 5½. 7th-8th Deshmukh Divya and Zhongyi Tan, 5. 8 players.

   Rest day Monday 13th April 2026.

   Round 13 Tuesday 14th April 13:30 BST: Wei Yi vs Andrey Esipenko Anish Giri vs Javokhir Sindarov Hikaru Nakamura vs Matthias Bluebaum Fabiano Caruana vs Praggnanandhaa R

   FIDE Women’s Candidates

   Bibisara Assaubayeva vs Anna Muzychuk Kateryna Lagno vs Divya Deshmukh Tan Zhongyi vs Vaishali Rameshbabu Zhu Jiner vs Aleksandra Goryachkina

2. Sindarov defends confidently against Caruana, Vaishali moves a point clear in the women's event. Candidates Round 11 - 11

   Javokhir Sindarov moved a step closer to winning the FIDE Candidates tournament in Cyprus. Sindarov was put under serious pressure for the first time in the event. Sindarov made a number of inaccuracies 22...Rc8! would probably have avoided all difficulty, I'm not sure Sindarov was lost but after Caruana's 31.g4?! he realised immediately that he should save the position which he did fairly easily from then on. A two point lead with three rounds to go means Sindarov is almost there.

   The other games were drawn, Anish Giri had his chances against Andrey Esipenko, Praggnanandhaa was flat out winning against Bluebaum and Wei Yi easily held Nakamura.

   In the women's event Vaishali Rameshbabu now leads by a point. It's hard to know what to say without sounding mean spirited but she's been gifted a lot of points. Today Goryachkina self-emolliated her own rook, there was no real reason to do that. The other games were drawn. Lagno-Muzychuk quiet draw, Zhu Jiner escaped with a draw against Divya Deshmukh and Tan Zhongyi allowed Bibisara to escape with a draw after late blunders from both players.

   Round 11 (of 14) Standings: 1st Javokhir Sindarov, 8½/11. 2nd Anish Giri, 6½. 3rd-5th Matthias Bluebaum, Hikaru Nakamura and Yi Wei, 5. 6th Fabiano Caruana, 5½. 7th Andrey Esipenko, 4. 8th R Praggnanandhaa, 4½. 8 players. FIDE Women Candidates DRR.

   Round 11 (of 14) Standings: 1st Rameshbabu Vaishali, 7/11. 2nd-3rd Anna Muzychuk and Jiner Zhu, 6. 4th-5th Deshmukh Divya and Aleksandra Goryachkina, 5. 6th-7th Bibisara Assaubayeva and Kateryna Lagno, 5½. 8th Zhongyi Tan, 4. 8 players.

   Round 12 Sunday 12th April 13:30 BST: Andrey Esipenko vs Praggnanandhaa R, Matthias Bluebaum vs Fabiano Caruana, Javokhir Sindarov vs Hikaru Nakamura, Wei Yi vs Anish Giri.

   Women’s Candidates Round 12: Anna Muzychuk vs Aleksandra Goryachkina, Vaishali Rameshbabu vs Zhu Jiner, Divya Deshmukh vs Tan Zhongyi, Bibisara Assaubayeva vs Kateryna Lagno.

3. Sindarov almost home and dry in the FIDE Candidates with four rounds to go - 10

   Javokhir Sindarov put the disappointment of missing a win against Bluebaum in Round 9 and won a fine game against Praggnanandhaa, this restored a two point lead with only four rounds to go. Sindarov said his coach told him that he was playing the best chess and not to worry. In post-game analysis he was so precise it was obvious what great form he's in, a level above anyone else here. It's of course possible Caruana could beat him with the white pieces in Round 11 and Giri in Round 13, but at this stage it seems unlikely, he's simply seeing too much, even then Giri would have to score almost perfectly to even catch him. The other games were drawn. Friday is a rest day.

   In the Women's event Rameshbabu Vaishali leads after holding a draw against Anna Muzychuk but she's hardly been convincing, in fact no-one has, it's still so close that anyone in the top 6 could realistically win it.

   Round 10 (of 14) Standings: 1st Javokhir Sindarov, 8/10. 2nd Anish Giri, 6. 3rd Fabiano Caruana, 5. 4th-6th Matthias Bluebaum, Hikaru Nakamura and Yi Wei, 4½. 7th R Praggnanandhaa, 4. 8th Andrey Esipenko, 3½. 8 players. FIDE Women Candidates DRR.

   Women's Round 10 (of 14) Standings: 1st Rameshbabu Vaishali, 6/10. 2nd-4th Bibisara Assaubayeva, Aleksandra Goryachkina and Kateryna Lagno, 5. 5th-6th Anna Muzychuk and Jiner Zhu, 5½. 7th Deshmukh Divya, 4½. 8th Zhongyi Tan, 3½. 8 players.

   Rest Day 10th April 2026.

   Round 11 FIDE Candidates Anish Giri vs Andrey Esipenko, Hikaru Nakamura vs Wei Yi, Fabiano Caruana vs Javokhir Sindarov, Praggnanandhaa R vs Matthias Bluebaum.

   FIDE Women’s Candidates

   Kateryna Lagno vs Anna Muzychuk, Tan Zhongyi vs Bibisara Assaubayeva, Zhu Jiner vs Divya Deshmukh, Aleksandra Goryachkina vs Vaishali Rameshbabu.

4. 26th European Individual Championship 2026 - Games and Results

   The 26th European Individual Championship takes place 6th (arrival day) to 20th April 2026.

   Players: Igor Kovalenko, David Anton Guijarro, Daniel Deac Bogdan Aydin Suleymanli, Shant Sargsyan, David Navara, Alexander Donchenko, Anton Demchenko, Ediz Gurel, Haik Martirosyan Buhl Bjerre Jonas Robert Hovhannisyan, Vasyl Ivanchuk, Maxime Lagarde, Gabriel Sargissian, Aleksandar Indjic, Anton Korobov, Jaime Santos Latasa, MarcAndria Maurizzi, Mahammad Muradli, Lorenzo Lodici, Maxim Rodshtein, Maxim Dardha Ihor Samunenkov, Daniil Yuffa, Szymon Gumularz, Casper Schoppen, Constantin Lupulescu, Nijat Abasov, Elham Amar, Manuel Petrosyan, Bartosz Socko, Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis, Mustafa Yilmaz, Alan Pichot, Eduardo Iturrizaga Bonelli, Peter Acs, Valery Kazakouski, Vaclav Finek, Gleb Dudin etc.

5. Sindarov misses a big opportunity and Giri beats Caruana in Candidates Round 9 - 9

   The 9th Round of the FIDE Candidates tournament in Cyprus saw some very consequent action. First of all the leader by two points Javokhir Sindarov missed a clear winning chance against Matthias Bluebaum and had to settle for a draw. No disaster but nevertheless a chance. Fabiano Caruana dropped out of contention when he lost to Anish Giri, who is now 1.5 points behind Sindarov and is surely the only player that can catch the leader.

   In the women's event there was another very wild day that finished with Zhu Jiner and Rameshbabu Vaishali sharing the lead, Anna Muzychuk missed a chance to join them.

   Round 9 (of 14) Standings: 1st Javokhir Sindarov, 7/9. 2nd Anish Giri, 5½. 3rd-5th Matthias Bluebaum, R Praggnanandhaa and Yi Wei, 4. 6th Fabiano Caruana, 4½. 7th Hikaru Nakamura, 3½. 8th Andrey Esipenko, 2½. 8 players. FIDE Women Candidates DRR.

   Round 9 (of 14) Standings: 1st-2nd Jiner Zhu and Rameshbabu Vaishali, 5½/9. 3rd Anna Muzychuk, 5. 4th-5th Bibisara Assaubayeva and Aleksandra Goryachkina, 4. 6th-7th Deshmukh Divya and Kateryna Lagno, 4½. 8th Zhongyi Tan, 3. 8 players.

   Round 10 13:30GMT 9th April 2026 FIDE Candidates Andrey Esipenko vs Matthias Bluebaum, Javokhir Sindarov vs Praggnanandhaa R, Wei Yi vs Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri vs Hikaru Nakamura.

   FIDE Women’s Candidates Round 10:

   Anna Muzychuk vs Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh vs Aleksandra Goryachkina, Bibisara Assaubayeva vs Zhu Jiner, Kateryna Lagno vs Tan Zhongyi.

6. Sindarov extends his lead to two points in the Candidates even after a draw in Round 8 - 8

   Javokhir Sindarov is in the poll position of the FIDE Candidates in Cyprus after drawing with Andrey Esipenko in Round 8 and moving to 6.5/8. Sindarov was barely troubled in the first game to finish. Sindarov's closest challenger was Fabiano Caruana but he was defeated by a determined Hikaru Nakamura. Anish Giri joined Caruana in a tie for second place two points behind Sindarov after beating Praggnanandhaa, the gap is still a bit too far to make Giri optimistic but he's in touch if Sindarov starts to lose. Wei Yi drew against Bluebaum in the other game.

   The women's event was blown wide open by an extraordinary reversal of fortunes for Anna Muzychuk in her game against Divya Deshmukh. Muzychuk was heading for victory on move 40, she chose second best and only a few moves later the position was equal, she missed something else and lost the game. That meant five of the eight players are tied for the lead.

   Open Round 8 (of 14) Standings: 1st Javokhir Sindarov, 6½/8. 2nd-3rd Anish Giri and Fabiano Caruana, 4½. 4th-7th Matthias Bluebaum, R Praggnanandhaa, Hikaru Nakamura and Yi Wei, 3½. 8th Andrey Esipenko, 2½. 8 players. FIDE Women Candidates DRR.

   Women's Round 8 (of 14) Standings: 1st-5th Anna Muzychuk, Deshmukh Divya, Rameshbabu Vaishali, Jiner Zhu and Kateryna Lagno, 4½/8. 6th-7th Aleksandra Goryachkina and Bibisara Assaubayeva, 3½. 8th Zhongyi Tan, 2½. 8 players.

   Round 9 Wednesday 8th April 2026. FIDE Candidates Hikaru Nakamura — Andrey Esipenko Fabiano Caruana — Anish Giri Praggnanandhaa R — Wei Yi Matthias Bluebaum — Javokhir Sindarov

   FIDE Women’s Candidates Round 9 Tan Zhongyi — Anna Muzychuk Zhu Jiner — Kateryna Lagno Aleksandra Goryachkina — Bibisara Assaubayeva Vaishali Rameshbabu — Divya Deshmukh

7. Javokhir Sindarov leads the FIDE Candidates by 1.5 points at the half way stage - 7

   Javokhir Sindarov has finished the first half of the FIDE Candidates on 6/7 following a draw against Anish Giri. Although Sindarov was better Giri's defence was very accurate and really there didn't seem to be any winning chances.

   The only decisive game of the day was when Wei Yi took advantage of a gruesome blunder by Andrey Esipenko, this was a case of Esipenko mixing up his move order in a sharp position and being left with a position that was basically unplayable. Bluebaum vs Nakamura and Praggnanandhaa vs Caruana were both drawn in games not without interest.

   In the Women's event Anna Muzychuk still leads, Rameshbabu Vaishali hasn't looked all that convincing but two days of turn arounds mean that instead of being potentially out of it she's just half a point behind the leader.

   FIDE Women Candidates Round 7 (of 14) Standings: 1st Javokhir Sindarov, 5½/7. 2nd Fabiano Caruana, 4. 3rd-4th R Praggnanandhaa and Anish Giri, 3. 5th Matthias Bluebaum, 2½. 6th-8th Andrey Esipenko, Yi Wei and Hikaru Nakamura, 2. 8 players.

   FIDE Women Candidates Round 7 (of 14) Standings: 1st Anna Muzychuk, 4½/7. 2nd Rameshbabu Vaishali, 4. 3rd-6th Aleksandra Goryachkina, Jiner Zhu, Deshmukh Divya and Kateryna Lagno, 3½. 7th Bibisara Assaubayeva, 3. 8th Zhongyi Tan, 2½. 8 players.

   Rest Day Monday 6th April

   Round 8 13:30BST Tuesday 7th April 2026. Andrey Esipenko — Javokhir Sindarov Wei Yi — Matthias Bluebaum Anish Giri — Praggnanandhaa R Hikaru Nakamura — Fabiano Caruana

   FIDE Women’s Candidates Round 8 Anna Muzychuk — Divya Deshmukh Bibisara Assaubayeva — Vaishali Rameshbabu Kateryna Lagno — Aleksandra Goryachkina Tan Zhongyi — Zhu Jiner

8. Sindarov in danger of running away with the Candidates after he moves to 5.5/6 - 6

   Javokhir Sindarov won yet again to move to 5.5/6 and revive memories of Veselin Topalov's 6.5/7 in the first half of the World Championship tournament in San Luis in 2005 (and as Anand admitted, the only person to draw, he saved a lost position), there in exactly the same format, Topalov cruised to victory by drawing the entirity of the second half of the tournament. Whilst Sindarov is on fire, and just looking and feeling in total control, he's only a point and a half clear of Fabiano Caruana at the moment. As stunning as his performance is, he's not yet a certainty, but the performance has been mind blowing. Today he survived some testing moments against Wei Yi, never seemed in real trouble, he didn't even have to be really accurate to take advantage of Wei Yi's time trouble and nerves.

   In the women's event Anna Muzychuk now leads alone on 4/6 a point clear of most of the rest of the field. That definitely doesn't feel in any way settled as the chess is both exciting and unpredictable.

   Round 7 (of 14) Standings: 1st Javokhir Sindarov, 5½/7. 2nd Fabiano Caruana, 4. 3rd-4th R Praggnanandhaa and Anish Giri, 3. 5th Matthias Bluebaum, 2½. 6th-8th Andrey Esipenko, Yi Wei and Hikaru Nakamura, 2. 8 players. FIDE Women Candidates DRR.

   Round 7 (of 14) Women's Standings: 1st Anna Muzychuk, 4/7. 2nd-6th Rameshbabu Vaishali, Aleksandra Goryachkina, Deshmukh Divya, Jiner Zhu and Kateryna Lagno, 3. 7th-8th Zhongyi Tan and Bibisara Assaubayeva, 2½. 8 players.

   Round 7 Sunday 5th April 2026. FIDE Candidates Andrey Esipenko — Wei Yi Javokhir Sindarov — Anish Giri Matthias Bluebaum — Hikaru Nakamura Praggnanandhaa R — Fabiano Caruana

   FIDE Women’s Candidates Anna Muzychuk — Bibisara Assaubayeva Divya Deshmukh — Kateryna Lagno Vaishali Rameshbabu — Tan Zhongyi Aleksandra Goryachkina — Zhu Jiner