FIDE Chess Candidates 2026 Live, Round 12:Vaishali faces Zhu Jiner in key clash; Divya and Praggnanandhaa in action from 6:15 PM IST

Zhu Jiner and R Vaishali are on the board for their match.

Tan Zhongyi has reached the playing hall for her clash with Divya Deshmukh.

Vaishali’s win over Zhu Jiner tonight will extend her lead at the top of the women’s section.

It was a frustrating round for Praggnanandhaa yesterday against Bluebaum. He was winning on two occasions, but Bluebaum countered well and forced the match to a draw. The Indian GM will play Andrey Esipenko today.

Sindarov and Nakamura’s clash earlier in the tournament would be remembered for Nakamura taking more than an hour to make a move, a record in itself. It’d be interesting to see whether the Uzbekistan GM bags another victory that almost wins him the Candidates title or whether Nakamura pulls off an upset.

Divya Deshmukh is placed seventh in the standings and will face Tan Zhongyi, against whom she had drawn earlier in the tournament. 

Zhu Jiner defeated Vaishali in Round five. Today, Vaishali will play with the White pieces, looking to consolidate her lead heading into the rest day tomorrow.

R Vaishali leads the tournament with 7/11 points after a Round 11 victory over Aleksandra Goryachkina yesterday, holding a one-point advantage over the chasing pack, which includes today’s opponent, Zhu Jiner. 

Anna Muzychuk — Aleksandra Goryachkina
Vaishali Rameshbabu — Zhu Jiner
Divya Deshmukh — Tan Zhongyi
Bibisara Assaubayeva — Kateryna Lagno

Andrey Esipenko — Praggnanandhaa R
Matthias Bluebaum — Fabiano Caruana
Javokhir Sindarov — Hikaru Nakamura
Wei Yi — Anish Giri

Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s coverage of the FIDE Candidates 2026 taking place in Cyprus.