FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026, Round 7: Vaishali registers second consecutive win, Praggnanandhaa draws with Caruana
Grandmaster R Vaishali made something out of nothing, and in style, bagging full points to move to four out of seven after defeating Tan Zhongyi in a game that had been heading towards a draw until the middlegame. The win lifts Vaishali to second in the standings, behind leader Anna Muzychuk.
Zhongyi’s blunder in the sequence around moves 36 to 38 — Rc6, Kg7, Ra1 — ensured Vaishali walked away with the full point. Zhongyi began pushing pawns on the flank instead of consolidating her king position, and one of Vaishali’s key moments came on move 38 with Rxf6, winning a pawn and opening lines towards the black king.
Zhongyi then erred further with Kxf6, exposing her king without a pawn shield. Vaishali’s rooks and king coordinated better thereafter, as she built up activity and converted the advantage, forcing Zhongyi to resign.
In the women’s section, Muzychuk held on to her lead with 4.5 points after drawing against Bibisara.
In the open section, R Praggnanandhaa once again pushed for a result but eventually settled for a threefold-repetition draw against Fabiano Caruana.
Earlier in the day, Hikaru Nakamura, enduring a difficult tournament, drew against Matthias Bluebaum.
More to follow…
Published on Apr 05, 2026