FIDE Candidates Round 2: A day of draws and moments of missed glory
After the tactical excitement of yesterday’s round, the players opted for a more technical approach this afternoon in the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026. As a result, all eight games ended in hard-fought draws, leaving the standings unchanged, with Fabiano Caruana, R Praggnanandhaa and Javokhir Sindarov leading the field on 1.5/2. In the Women’s FIDE Candidates Tournament, Divya Deshmukh and Zhu Jiner missed great opportunities to take the lead each blundering into tactical sequences against Vaishali R and Kateryna Lagno, respectively. All eight contenders are tied for the lead on 1/2. Viswanathan Anand, FIDE Deputy President, officially opened the second round by making the ceremonial first move in the all-Indian clash between Divya Deshmukh and R Vaishali. After greeting both players, Anand played 1.c4 – the very move later chosen by Divya to begin the game. Clearly, being a five-time World Champion comes with its advantages when it comes to anticipating a grandmaster’s intentions. Playing with the black pieces, Fabiano Caruana opted for a rare move order in the Catalan, allowing Anish Giri to secure a slight edge, though not enough to seriously press for a win. “Anish is generally very well prepared in the openings, so I went for a rare line, but he was ready for it. I suffered a little, but I think I played accurately enough to neutralize the slight pressure he had,” Caruana explained in his post-game interview. Both players delivered an exceptionally precise performance, each achieving 98% accuracy without a single mistake. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bl2Ag1CvU8 Although Wei Yi made a slight inaccuracy in the main line of French Defence, Praggnanandhaa R was unable to fully capitalize. “I’ve played against the French recently, so it didn’t come as a big surprise. I think I got a good position and a time advantage in the opening,” Praggnanandhaa said after the game. Although he eventually managed to win a pawn, the Chinese grandmaster defended resourcefully, steering the game into an opposite-coloured bishop ending and comfortably securing the draw. The “#GreatBluebaumSweep” may have come to an end, but Matthias Bluebaum can still be satisfied with his start to the tournament. Two solid draws in the opening rounds suggest he has arrived in Cyprus with ambitions well beyond merely avoiding last place. “The Great Sweep was obviously a joke, but I’m definitely not unhappy at all with how the tournament has started,” he said with a smile before attending the local press duties. In today’s game, Bluebaum opted for a solid Petroff Defence against Javokhir Sindarov. The Uzbek grandmaster was unable to generate any serious chances, and a draw was agreed on move 42. Meanwhile, Andrey Esipenko pressed a slight but persistent edge against Hikaru Nakamura, even managing to win a pawn. However, Nakamura’s endgame defence proved impeccable: he found a precise way to simplify into a rook ending and held the position comfortably. Despite being the last game to finish, spectators remained fully engaged, following every move until the very end. The first game to finish in the Women’s FIDE Candidates Tournament was an uneventful draw between Anna Muzychuk and Tan Zhongyi, leaving both players on 50% after the first two rounds. The former Women’s World Champion opted for the ultra-solid Petroff Defence – a favourite at the elite level in China – successfully preventing Muzychuk from creating any real chances. A few minutes later, Aleksandra Goryachkina secured her second draw of the event with the black pieces against Bibisara Assaubayeva, improving on a recent game between Arjun Erigaisi and Shamsiddin Vokhidov, which had ended in a win for Erigaisi. Well prepared, Goryachkina chose a safe continuation in a complex middlegame, ensuring a solid result. Playing with the black pieces against Kateryna Lagno, Zhu Jiner obtained an advantage out of the opening after her opponent misplayed her preparation. Gradually improving her position, Zhu accumulated a significant edge and looked on course to claim the full point. However, in a highly complex position and despite being two pawns up, she blundered into a rook sacrifice that forced an immediate draw by perpetual check. Arguably, the clearest opportunity to score in this round fell to the young Indian World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh. After pressing throughout the game in a Carlsbad structure with the white pieces, she seemed on the verge of taking the lead in the event when disaster struck. Following a queen exchange with 37.Qg4!, Divya would have emerged with a clean extra pawn and excellent winning chances in the endgame. “I was not sure what to do after 37.Qg4: I thought my position was very bad,” admitted Vaishali after the game. Instead, Divya opted for 37.Qg3?, allowing 37…Rxc5 38.Qe5+ Kh7 39.Rb8 Rc1+ 40.Kh2. It appears that White is winning: the black queen is under attack, and mate on h8 is looming. However, Vaishali had foreseen a tactical resource Divya walked straight into: 40…Qxh3+! 41.gxh3 Nf3+, after which Black regains the queen and comfortably holds the resulting rook endgame. Both Divya and Vaishali later attended the official press conference, where they analysed this dramatic encounter in detail. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHAjR2eY7iw&pp=0gcJCdsKAYcqIYzv The fun zone, hosted by FIDE presenter Angelika Valkova, featured a nineteen-board simul with former Women’s World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk. Kosteniuk dominated the exhibition, winning 18 games and losing only one. The lucky victor of the single win received a chess clock as a prize. Standings after Round 2 Round 3 will commence on March 31, at 3:30 pm (Cyprus) Round 3 pairings – FIDE Candidates Tournament: Matthias Bluebaum – Andrey EsipenkoPraggnanandhaa R – Javokhir SindarovFabiano Caruana – Wei YiHikaru Nakamura – Anish Giri Round 3 pairings – FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament: Vaishali Rameshbabu – Anna MuzychukAleksandra Goryachkina – Divya DeshmukhZhu Jiner – Bibisara AssaubayevaTan Zhongyi – Kateryna Lagno Official website: https://candidates2026.fide.com/ Event photo gallery: https://www.flickr.com/photos/fide/ Live daily broadcast with GM commentary: https://www.youtube.com/@FIDE_chess Written by IM Michael A. Rahal (Cyprus) Photos: Michal Walusza, Yoav Nis
FIDE World Team Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships 2026: Registration now open
The fourth edition of the FIDE World Team Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships will take place in Hong Kong from 16 to 22 June 2026, and team registration is now open! Following three successful editions in Düsseldorf (2023), Astana (2024), and London (2025), the championship returns with an exciting format: mixed teams where elite professionals and recreational players compete side by side across rapid and blitz events. Every match is played on six boards, and each team must include at least one female player and at least one recreational player, defined as someone who has never achieved a FIDE rating of 2000 or higher in standard, rapid, or blitz. This unique team composition has consistently produced some of the most compelling chess of recent years. In 2024, Al-Ain ACMG UAE claimed the Rapid title in Astana, while WR Chess Team, led by Magnus Carlsen, took the Blitz crown. Last year in London, Team MGD1, featuring Arjun Erigaisi, won the Rapid championship, and WR Chess successfully defended their Blitz title for the second consecutive year, with Alireza Firouzja, Hikaru Nakamura, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave all delivering decisive performances. It is very rare to witness and play alongside such Super Grandmaster teams on the chess calendar and the 2026 edition in Hong Kong is already shaping up to be the strongest yet. WR Chess Team have confirmed a formidable roster, with Magnus Carlsen returning to board 1 alongside Fabiano Caruana on board 2 and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave also joining the lineup, while their women’s boards remain unchanged with Hou Yifan and Alexandra Kosteniuk. With reigning Rapid champions MGD1, Hexamind, and other leading teams expected to return, the competition promises to be fierce across both formats. Format and regulations The FIDE World Team Rapid Chess Championship will be played as a 12-round Swiss tournament across three days (June 17-19), with four rounds per day and a time control of 15 minutes for the whole game plus a 10-second increment per move. The FIDE World Team Blitz Chess Championship follows on June 20 and 21, beginning with pool stages before moving to a knockout format for the top 16 teams, with a time control of 3 minutes plus a 2-second increment per move. The total prize fund across both championships is €500,000. The Rapid Champion team will receive €110,000, with the Blitz champion team taking home €75,000. Here’s how the prize money is allocated: Additional category prizes are available for teams in the “Under 2400” and “Under 2200” average rating brackets. Full regulations, including the playing schedule, time controls, and prize fund details, have been published and are available on the official website. How to register Registration deadline: May 15, 2026, 12:00 pm Lausanne time Entry Fee: €1,000 per team, payable by the registration deadline. Each registration must include the team name, the captain’s full name and FIDE ID, the full names and FIDE IDs of all team members, and any visa-related information required by the Organiser. Teams and federations are encouraged to register early, as interest in the championship continues to grow with each edition. The playing venue capacity is limited and only 42 teams can take part – 10 based on their highest ratings and 26 based on earliest registration, with six wild card teams provided by the organizers. Registration form: https://formdesigner.pro/form/view/243338 Regulations (PDF) Official website: https://worldrapidblitzteams2026.fide.com/ Contact: hkchessevent@gmail.com The FIDE World Team Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships are popular amongst players and fans alike, offering a unique space for top Grandmasters, rising stars, and chess enthusiasts to play together and fight for World titles.