R Vaishali Dominates FIDE Women's Candidates with Key Victory

R Vaishali's Remarkable Win

In a pivotal moment at the FIDE Women's Candidates tournament, R Vaishali achieved a crucial victory over Aleksandra Goryachkina, utilizing the black pieces in Round 11. Vaishali took advantage of a critical mistake that resulted in Goryachkina's rook being trapped, ultimately leading to her resignation, as reported by ESPN.

Current Standings and Competitors

With this win, R Vaishali solidified her lead in the tournament, accumulating seven points from 11 games. She is now a full point ahead of Zhu Jiner and Anna Muzychuk, who are tied for second place. In other matches, Divya Deshmukh managed to secure a draw against Zhu Jiner, while Anna Muzychuk also drew with Kateryna Lagno.

Open Section Highlights

In the open section, India's R Praggnanandhaa ended his match against Matthias Bluebaum in a draw, bringing his total to 4.5 points. Javokhir Sindarov, competing with black, drew his lengthy match against Fabiano Caruana, increasing his score to 8.5 points and inching closer to a Candidates victory. Anish Giri, trailing behind, stands at 6.5 points after a draw with Andrey Esipenko, while Hikaru Nakamura also shared points with Wei Yi.

FIDE Candidates 2026 Standings

Women's Standings

R Vaishali - 7

Zhu Jiner - 6

Anna Muzychuk - 6

Bibisara Assaubayeva - 5.5

Kateryna Lagno - 5.5

Aleksandra Goryachkina - 5

Divya Deshmukh - 5

Tan Zhongyi - 4

Open Standings

Javokhir Sindarov - 8.5

Anish Giri - 6.5

Fabiano Caruana - 5.5

Hikaru Nakamura - 5

Wei Yi - 5

Matthias Bluebaum - 5

R Praggnanandhaa - 4.5

Andrey Esipenko - 4