FIDE Candidates 2026, Round 5: R Praggnanandhaa, Divya Deshmukh, R Vaishali in action; Pairings, live streaming info
India’s R Praggnanandhaa will be in action against Russia’s Andrey Esipenko in the fifth round of open section of the FIDE Candidates 2026 in Cyprus on Friday.
In the women’s section, there will be two India-China clashes in the fifth round – R Vaishali will take on Zhu Jiner, while Divya Deshmukh will tackle Tan Zhongyi.
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Indian players’ pairings and colours for Round 5:
R. Praggnanandhaa (White) vs. Andrey Esipenko
R. Vaishali (Black) vs. Zhu Jiner
Divya Deshmukh (Black) vs. Tan Zhongyi
Where to watch Candidates 2026 live?
Candidates 2026 will be streamed LIVE on FIDE’s YouTube channel.
Published on Apr 03, 2026

