Chess favorites: Vaishali and Divya Deshmukh save Indian blush; Pragnananda must act now Chess News –

NEW DELHI: As the FIDE Candidates Championship passes almost the halfway mark of its 14-round marathon, a kind of intensity is beginning to fill the Mediterranean air. However, for the Indian contingent, the narrative is split between a desperate scramble for relevance in the open division and a bold, if somewhat erratic, comeback in the women’s category.While Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov is currently playing a version of chess that appears light-years ahead of his peers, topping the open division with a stunning score of 5.5/6, the Indian challenge, led solo by R Pragnanananda in the respective category, appears to be stuck in second gear.

In the women’s division, Vaishali Rameshbabu and Divya Deshmukh were able to secure decisive victories with their black pieces in the sixth round at Cap St. George Hotel & Resort in Cyprus on Saturday, although these victories were due as much to the collapse of their opponents as to their clinical play.The Sindarov Storm continuesIn the Open category, the gap between the leader and the chasing group widens into a chasm. So absolute is Sindarov’s dominance that a world championship bout against De Jokiss later this year seems like an inevitability.

Fabiano Caruana is in second place, 4 points behind, 1.5 points behind the leaders, while India’s only hope, Pragnananda, is three points behind.Analyzing the round, veteran grandmaster Praveen Thepsai noted that while Pragnananda showed intent against Hikaru Nakamura, the execution fell short of a decisive blow.

“Pragnananda played with great ambition against Nakamura. He was black, but he kept complicating the situations. However, Nakamura was able to find the right moves and the match ended with repetitions of moves as both players had to repeat, otherwise they would be in a lower position. It was a neat draw, but it was equal nonetheless,” Thepsai told TimesofIndia.com after today’s match.

But the real story remains the dismantled Sindarov

Wei yi

With surgical precision. Thepsay was overwhelmed with praise, marking a clear distinction between the Uzbeks and the rest of the field.“The best match of the round was between Wei Yi and Sindarov. Sindarov simply outplayed him in a very strange positional battle. Wei Yi looked better, but in reality, Sindarov has been better for a long time. The quality of play is completely higher than the others, which is a completely different class,” Thipsay explained.

If Sindarov continues like this, he will surely win the tournament with one or two rounds to go. “Although Caruana was playing with consistency and intensity, Sindarov is a different class in this tournament.”Results of the sixth round for International Federation candidates – April 4, 2026Open the section

Luck favors the anomaly in the women’s departmentIn the women’s division, India finally found some momentum, although the critical lens remained fixed on how they got those points.Vaishali and Divya have now joined the chasing pack behind leader Anna Muzychuk (4/6 points). Vaishali’s encounter with Katrina Lagno was a rollercoaster as the Indian chose aggression at the expense of structural integrity.“Vaishali tried to complicate matters at the expense of topical concessions,” Thepsai noted. “It was not clear whether it was better with move 20. When I offered the h5 pawn (on move 22), it was a risky decision. Lagno could have taken it with 24.Qxh5 instead of 24.Rc1, which turned out to be a bad choice.”

According to Thipsay, Vaishali’s persistence paid off only because Lagno retreated into the shell.“Vaishali continued to play aggressively, and Lagno continued to play passively. By move 29, Vaishali made a bishop sacrifice (…Bxh3) which could not be taken,” he noted. “With move 32, I sacrificed the same bishop in a different place (32…gxf3) to completely open up the king’s position. Lagno eventually had to abandon move 47, but the game was on a knife’s edge for a long time.”Divya’s great escapeDivya Deshmukh’s win over Bibisara Asabayeva followed a similar program of drifting followed by a save late in the match. Using her favored Cambridge Springs defence, Divya found herself in a rare variation previously seen between Magnus Carlsen and Vincent Kemmer.“The position was equal early, but Bibisara changed correctly in move 15, giving her a slight advantage. At this point, Divya started to drift. She was facing serious difficulties in move 24 when Bibisara broke on the royal side,” Thepsai noted.

However, the Indian player was given a lifeline after a series of unforced errors from the Kazakh player.“Bibissara chose to attack with the queen instead of the knight on move 26. 26.Ng4 would have given her a huge advantage, but she played 26.Qe3. Then came a series of inaccurate and unforced errors: 27.c5,28.c6. These moves were of lower quality compared to her previous play. In the end, Divya had the chance to outplay her strategically and tactically to take the win after 46 moves.”Despite the positive results on Saturday, the Indian camp will be cautious. If Pragnananda is to stop Sindarov’s power, and if the women are to overcome Muzychuk, reliance on the opponent’s blunders must be replaced with the clinical dominance currently being displayed by the tournament leaders.

Results of the sixth round for International Federation candidates – April 4, 2026Women’s section

Round 7 Pairs – April 5, 2026