FIDE Candidates 2026, Women’s section: Vaishali draws with Tan as Bibisara joins her at top of table

Grandmaster R. Vaishali’s second-half resurgence is heading towards a final-day decider, as she drew with Tan Zhongyi (5.5) to remain joint leader on 7.5 points alongside Bibisara Assaubayeva, who beat Anna Muzychuk on Tuesday to move to the top.

Playing with the black pieces, Vaishali opted for a solid Queen’s Gambit Accepted. By move 15, the position was roughly equal, with Tan attempting to build pressure on the kingside, but Vaishali holding firm with a sound defensive set-up.

Tan later delivered a check with Qe8+, forcing Vaishali’s king to h7. Material remained level, but the position was still volatile with several pieces on board.

However, with Vaishali’s knight finding strong outposts on d3 and f4, posing a growing threat to the kingside, Tan opted against taking further risks. The players soon repeated moves to agree to a draw by threefold repetition.

Vaishali appeared content with the result against the former World Champion, staying in title contention heading into final round.

Published on Apr 14, 2026