Candidates’ Chess: How Indian Vaishali surrounded the Russian rook to continue his lead at the summit | Chess News –

NEW DELHI – For the first time in the women’s elections in Cyprus, someone has asserted dominance, and it was not surprising that it was India’s Vaishali Rameshbabu.Playing with black pieces in the 11th round on Saturday, she pulled off a stunning victory over former World Championship rival Alexandra Goryashkina.A win that looked less like a tactical clash and more like a statement of intent means the 24-year-old Vaishali stands alone at the top of the leaderboard with 7/11 points at the end of the day.

How Vaishali beat the Russian

When playing with the white pieces, Goryachkina chose to take a cautious approach, using the reverse London system.It was a choice that lacked the bite usually associated with her play. While analyzing the game, Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay pointed out the negative of the setup.“Goryachkina played a very negative London reverse system, which offered no advantage to whites. It was expected that she would try to play for an advantage, but I think she wanted to play it safe.” Thipsai told TimesofIndia.com. “Vaishali had no difficulties in achieving the equaliser.”Vaishali seized the initiative after unleashing a sharp new move on move 11 (11…Nc6), shifting the pressure back onto the 27-year-old Russian.

“The situation is slightly better for black at this stage,” Thepsai noted. “It was a complete failure for Goryachkina in the opening.”Despite the opening lead, the match appeared to be headed toward a draw after the queens were traded after 13 moves.However, in the tension of the end of the game, Goryachkina’s defensive accuracy finally collapsed. On move 25 (25.Rf5), she directs her rook into a cage she made herself.“The twenty-fifth move was a decisive error on the part of Goryachkina, who took her rook to a strange square in the middle.

The rook is trapped,” Thepsai explained. “By move 26, it seemed that Goryachkina was in a really tough position with no chance of moving the rook.”The end came quickly.On move 30, under enormous pressure to free her trapped piece, Goryachkina missed 30.Bc4, instantly losing the exchange.“Then the theoretical win became very clear for Vaishali,” said Thepsai. “Nice delivery of the endgame then; Superior endgame.”

On the same day, Vaishali’s compatriot Divya Deshmukh tied with Cho Jenner. Zhou remained in second place equally with Anna Muzychuk with 6/11 points, while Divya remained in second place with 5/11.The Open Division saw India’s title hopes fade as R Praggnanandhaa equalized his match against Matthias Blübaum, ending his chance of lifting the trophy. However, his sister Vaishali is carrying the torch towards history. With only three rounds remaining, she leads by a full point on the field.As Thipsay concluded: “Our very own Vaishali looks to be in good stead to win the Women’s Candidates Championship. Nice win for Vaishali, who seems to be increasing her lead now as she is the only player to win (in this round).”

If Vaishali maintains this clinical calm, a coronation in Cyprus seems less likely and more inevitable. In the open section, after tying with Fabiano Caruana, Uzbek grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov came close to clinching the prestigious title of candidates.

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