After drawing his game this afternoon against Anish Giri, Javokhir Sindarov finished the first half of the FIDE Candidates Tournament in the lead with an impressive 6/7, holding a clear 1½ point advantage over Fabiano Caruana. Wei Yi scored his first win of the tournament in a fantastic attacking game with Andrey Esipenko.
In the Women’s FIDE Candidates, Vaishali defeated Tan Zhongyi and now sits just a half-point behind Anna Muzychuk, who continues to lead the standings with 4½/7.
Let’s take a closer look at this afternoon’s action in the Cap St. Georges Hotel & Resort. For the highlights and analysis video with GM Peter Svidler, see the video below:
The ceremonial opening moves were carried out by distinguished guests. Mohammed Al Mudahka, President of the Qatar Chess Federation, made the first move for Javokhir Sindarov in his game against Anish Giri, while Zhu Chen, 9th Women’s World Champion and FIDE Treasurer, performed the opening move for Anna Muzychuk against Bibisara Assaubayeva.
In the FIDE Candidates Tournament, much of the attention was focused on Sindarov vs Giri. Could Sindarov continue his impressive run? At the same time, the clash between Fabiano Caruana and R Praggnanandhaa carried major implications for second place. However, the spotlight ultimately fell on Wei Yi.
Wei Yi took full advantage of Andrey Esipenko’s questionable opening choices, producing a brilliant attacking game reminiscent of the style that first brought him global fame.
At this moment, Black is practically playing with an extra rook due to the terrible placement of White’s rook on a1. The key question: how to break through?
Wei Yi found a stunning solution: 22…Rc4! An incredible exchange sacrifice. Esipenko could not accept it, as opening the b-file would have led to immediate disaster.
A few moves later, the pressure became unbearable. There was no thought of retreat, Wei Yi continued energetically with:
26…Bb5! After: 27.bxc4 Bxc4 28.Bc2 Bd3! White’s position is beyond repair. Esipenko soon resigned after: 29.Bc3 bxc3 30.Nc1 Rb8+ with a forced mate incoming. A beautiful finishing line: 31.Nb3 Qa3! 32.Bxd3 Rxb3+ 33.axb3 Qxb3+ 34.Kc1 Bf4+ 35.Qd2 Bxd2#
In the press conference, Wei Yi revealed his preparation: “In Goa I played him twice in the Petrov, and he showed interesting ideas in the 5.Nc3 variation. Today 4.Qe2 was a surprise: it has ideas with long castling and a kingside attack, so I needed to be careful. I chose safe moves. After 14…Qe8!, I didn’t see any good options for White, I think he underestimated that move.”
Javokhir Sindarov pushed hard to create winning chances against Anish Giri in a well-known Ragozin variation of the Queen’s Gambit. Despite Sindarov’s efforts, Giri’s defensive technique proved impeccable.
Both players steered clear of major inaccuracies, and in the endgame, Giri demonstrated his deep understanding by constructing a fortress, even while an exchange down, comfortably holding the position to a draw.
Facing R Praggnanandhaa with the black pieces, Fabiano Caruana opted for the ever-reliable Slav Defence, a choice that appeared to catch his opponent off guard. Praggnanandhaa spent significant time navigating the resulting complications, but once again showed remarkable composure and class.
Caruana managed to obtain a small initiative, highlighted by a strong knight planted on d3, yet the Indian grandmaster neutralized all threats efficiently and secured a solid draw.
In the final game of the FIDE Candidates Tournament round, Matthias Bluebaum unveiled excellent opening preparation against Hikaru Nakamura. By move twenty, Bluebaum had built a significant advantage on the clock, nearly an hour ahead, while Nakamura was forced to calculate precisely just to stay in the game.
Despite the pressure, Nakamura showed exceptional resilience and accuracy, reportedly playing at a remarkable 99% precision. His performance served as a reminder that, even if the tournament standings may not favor him, he remains one of the most formidable players in the world.
After Round 7 of the FIDE Candidates Tournament (half-way mark) Sindarov is the clear leader, with Caruana trailing by 1.5 points and three pursuers further down.
The first game to finish in the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament was a relatively short affair. Playing with the black pieces, Bibisara Assaubayeva equalised comfortably in the Rossolimo Attack against Anna Muzychuk. In fact, coming out of the opening, Assaubayeva not only achieved full equality but also held a slight advantage on the clock.
A draw was agreed by threefold repetition on move 26. The result suited both players: Muzychuk completed the first half of the tournament as the sole leader, while Assaubayeva halted a difficult run and picked up an important half-point after two consecutive losses.
The remaining games stretched much longer, such as the battle between Aleksandra Goryachkina and Zhu Jiner. Their open Ruy Lopez battle lasted an impressive 70 moves and was marked by extraordinary precision from both sides. The accuracy evaluation hovered at an astonishing 99% throughout the game, highlighting the near-flawless quality of play.
In the end, neither player was able to break through, and the game concluded in a well-earned draw, an outstanding display of elite-level chess.
Contrary to the earlier games, Tan Zhongyi was pushing hard for a win against R Vaishali and achieved an overwhelming advantage, but let it slip away with one imprudent move. She kept pressing when disaster suddenly struck.
At this moment, almost any reasonable move would have left Tan with a healthy extra pawn. Engines suggest that Vaishali could still aim for a draw, but practically speaking, being a pawn down always carries risk at this level. There was, however, one critical mistake to avoid:
37…Ra1?? which allowed 38.Rxf6! 38…Kxf6 39.Bd4+ winning a piece and turning the game decisively in White’s favour.
The final game of the round became one of the longest in the history of the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament. Divya Deshmukh and Kateryna Lagno battled all the way to move 135 before finally agreeing to a draw.
Divya held the upper hand for much of the game, pressing persistently for a win. However, Lagno’s defensive resilience proved extraordinary, and she managed to hold the position under immense pressure. After such a grueling encounter, both players head into the rest day with a balanced score of 50%.
Both the inside fan-zone and the terrace hosted chess activities this afternoon. Five-time World Champion Vishy Anand delivered a training workshop for the National Cyprus Chess Team, while the lecture “Chess & Machines” was given by Dr. Yevgeny Levanzov, In the terrace, GM Jacob Aagaard delighted the fans with his lecture “An analogue perspective of the Candidates”.
Standings after Round 7:
Tomorrow is the second rest day. The eighth round will commence on April 7, at 3:30 pm (Cyprus).
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 (Eugene Nisenbaum)
