Following R. Praggnanandhaa’s exit from title contention, attention turns to his sister R. Vaishali, who leads the Women’s Candidates event alone as Round 11 begins on Saturday after a break. With six points, Vaishali will play against Russia’s Aleksandra Goryachkina, seeking to widen her advantage and improve her prospects of winning the tournament, which would grant her a challenge against current world champion Ju Wenjun this year.
Four rounds remain, and Vaishali has outperformed the other two Indian participants, including her brother in the Open category and Divya Deshmukh. She is half a point ahead of Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk and China’s Zhu Jiner. Kateryna Lagno, Aleksandra Goryachkina, and Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva are tied at five points in fourth place, with Divya Deshmukh trailing by another half point.
Former world champion Tan Zhongyi from China is at the bottom with 3.5 points.
Vaishali has drawn attention for her aggressive and dynamic style, securing three victories and suffering only one defeat. The Indian player has demonstrated determination, mixing bold moves with strategic caution.
After her game against Goryachkina, Vaishali will face two Chinese opponents and Kateryna. The competition is still competitive with four rounds to go, and consistent performance could clinch the win and a match against world champion Wenjun this year.
In the Open section, the event has become a dominant performance by Javokhir Sindarov, who has eight points from 10 games. The Uzbek player has been unbeatable, with six wins and four draws, positioning him strongly for a world championship match against India’s D. Gukesh, unless an unexpected downturn occurs in the closing rounds.
Sindarov leads comfortably, with Anish Giri two points behind in second place, requiring an extraordinary effort to catch up.
Fabiano Caruana sits in third, one point behind Giri, and is largely out of the running. Hikaru Nakamura, Wei Yi, and Matthias Bluebaum are tied for fourth with 4.5 points each.
Praggnanandhaa holds seventh place with four points after an encouraging beginning, while Andrey Esipenko is last with 3.5 points.
A victory for Sindarov over Caruana in the upcoming round could nearly guarantee his success, and even a tie would advance his position.
Giri will play Esipenko and hopes to narrow the difference with a win, while Praggnanandhaa meets Bluebaum, who has performed steadily.
Another Round 11 game features Nakamura against Wei Yi, where Nakamura seeks to climb the standings.
Round 11 Pairings (Open): Fabiano Caruana (USA, 5) vs. Javokhir Sindarov (Uzbekistan, 8); R. Praggnanandhaa (India, 4) vs. Matthias Bluebaum (Germany, 4.5); Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 4.5) vs. Wei Yi (China, 4.5); Anish Giri (Netherlands, 6) vs. Andrey Esipenko (Russia, 3.5).
Women’s Pairings: Aleksandra Goryachkina (Russia, 5) vs. R. Vaishali (India, 6); Tan Zhongyi (China, 3.5) vs. Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan, 5); Kateryna Lagno (Russia, 5) vs. Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine, 5.5); Zhu Jiner (China, 5.5) vs. Divya Deshmukh (India, 4.5).
