The Round of 9 match of the FIDE Candidates 2026 ended in disappointment for Indian GM Divya Deshmukh. The 20-year-old was beaten by GM Rameshbabu Vaishali in an all-Indian match-up at the 2026 FIDE Women’s Candidates in Cyprus. Divya is now sitting at joint fourth place with 4.5 points.
On Wednesday, April 8, the Round 9 match saw Vaishali successfully defeating her Indian compatriot Deshmukh while playing with the white pieces. She used her aggressive play to edge past her young opponent. World Cup champion Divya, after failing to recover from her mistakes, resigned after 31 moves.
Sister of India’s men’s GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Vaishali, is now tied with China’s Zhu Jiner. Both players are now with 5.5 points from nine games. The Chinese player had defeated Kateryna Lagno in her match.
In the next round, which is Round 10, India’s leading chess player in the tournament will next face Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk. Meanwhile, Divya will go against Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina.
India’s men’s GM Praggnanandhaa ended in a draw in the open section with Chinese grandmaster Wei Yi after 56 moves, resulting in a Queen’s Gambit Declined Variation. Playing with the white pieces, he had earned a massive advantage in the middle game but somehow missed his chances and struggled to win.
After resulting in the draw, Praggnanandhaa is in joint fourth place with four points from nine games played so far. He is three points behind top seed Javokhir Sindarov, against whom he will play in the next round on Thursday, April 9.
