Round one of the FIDE Candidates 2026, saw some highs and a decent start from the Indian chess stars. Grandmasters Divya Deshmukh, R Vaishali Rameshbabu and R. Praggnanandhaa displayed talents in their respective matches. This event will determine the challenger for the World Championship.
In the women’s section, Deshmukh looked sharp in the opening game against Anna Muzychuk. The Indian was aggressive in her attempt, but Muzychuk neutralised it with her timely exchanges. The game resulted in a draw, with none of them getting the chance to win.
In another women’s game, India’s Vaishali opened her campaign against Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva. The Indian fell into the deep at the end of the middle game. But after finding the right move within seconds left she had 30 minutes to the game.
With pieces getting exchanged the game turned into an intense battle between the Indian and the Kazakhstani. With no further possibility, the players later agreed to finish the match in a draw. This was Vaishali’s second successive Candidates’ appearance alongside her brother Praggnanandhaa.
On the other hand, the all-Chinese match between Zhu Jiner and Tan Zhongyi resulted in Zhu dominating early and Tan taking control of the match in the middle to centralise her queen. Later after 40 moves, the queens were traded, but Tan was still up by two pawns. Zhu played a Qe1 before going with her remaining pieces to close on Tan’s king. This match also resulted in a draw.
The game between Kateryna Lagno and Aleksandra Goryachkina also ended in a draw.
Elsewhere, India’s men’s Grandmaster Praggnanandhaa showcased a brilliant run against top-ranked Anish Giri, defeating him in the opening round. The youngster led his senior into the deep at the end of the game. Giri was under pressure throughout the game. After 40 moves, Praggnanandhaa got himself an advantage with a pawn to end Giri’s chance of winning.
USA’s Fabiano Caruana and his compatriot Hikaru Nakamura were the highlight match of the day and one of the longest in the opening round. In other clashes, Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov defeated Andrey Esipenko of Russia. The match between Matthias Bluebaum of Germany and China’s Ei Yi resulted in a draw.
FIDE Candidates 2026 Women Chess Results
Divya Deshmukh (Ind) vs. Anna Muzychuk (Ukr)
R. Vaishali Rameshbabu (Ind) vs. Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kaz)
Aleksandra Goryachkina (Rus) vs. Kateryna Lagno (Rus)
Zhu Jiner (Chn) vs. Tan Zhongyi (Chn)
