On Monday, March 30, the second round of the ongoing FIDE Women’s Candidates 2026 in Cyprus, the All-India match between two women grandmasters ended in a draw; 20-year-old Divya Deshmukh and Rameshbabu Vaishali Grandmasters in an equaliser.
Women’s World Cup champion Deshmukh was playing with the white pieces, and got herself an edge in the Queen’s Gambit Declined. Vaishali on the other hand left an underdeveloped pawn in the middle game. Both the players failed to get an advantage. After 44 moves, Vaishali ended up sacrificing two pieces to regain the pawn and the match resulted in a draw.
The Women’s Candidates tournament has proved to be highly competitive. After the first two rounds, the tournament chasers are tied at one point each. Earlier in the opening day of the event, Deshmukh got into a dispute in the game against Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk. Meanwhile, Vaishali also drew against Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva.
On the other hand in the main event, Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa also ended up in a draw against China’s Wei Yi. With that he now joins America’s Fabiano Caruana and Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov at 1.5 points in two games. Praggnanandhaa neutralised Wei Yi’s attacks and earned a draw. He will next take on Uzbekistan’s Sindarov in the third round where he will maintain his unbeaten streak. Earlier in the first round, in a decisive win against his senior and top-ranked Anish Giri.
