In the Women’s Candidates tournament held in Cyprus, Indian player Vaishali Rameshbabu achieved a significant win against former World Championship challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina from Russia during Round 11. Playing with black pieces, the 24-year-old secured the victory, placing her alone in first position with 7 points out of 11.
Goryachkina, using white pieces, selected a Reverse London System, which analysts described as a conservative choice without much aggressive potential. Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay noted that this setup did not provide white with any clear edge, allowing Vaishali to equalize easily.
Vaishali introduced a novel move on her 11th turn, gaining a slight advantage. Although the game seemed headed for a draw after queens were exchanged early, Goryachkina made a critical mistake on move 25 by positioning her rook poorly, leading to it becoming trapped.
By move 26, the Russian player’s position deteriorated significantly. A further error on move 30 resulted in the loss of material, handing Vaishali a straightforward win in the endgame.
In the same round, fellow Indian Divya Deshmukh drew with Zhu Jiner, who shares second place with Anna Muzychuk at 6 points. Divya holds 5 points.
The Open section featured all draws, diminishing Indian player R Praggnanandhaa’s title prospects after his game against Matthias Blübaum. Meanwhile, Uzbek player Javokhir Sindarov moved nearer to victory following his draw with Fabiano Caruana.
With three rounds left, Vaishali leads by a full point. Analysts suggest she is well-positioned to claim the Women’s Candidates title.
Round 11 Results – April 11, 2026
Open Section:
Anish Giri 0.5–0.5 Andrey Esipenko
Hikaru Nakamura 0.5–0.5 Wei Yi
Fabiano Caruana 0.5–0.5 Javokhir Sindarov
R Praggnanandhaa 0.5–0.5 Matthias Blübaum
Women’s Section:
Kateryna Lagno 0.5–0.5 Anna Muzychuk
Tan Zhongyi 0.5–0.5 Bibisara Assaubayeva
Zhu Jiner 0.5–0.5 Divya Deshmukh
Aleksandra Goryachkina 0–1 Vaishali Rameshbabu
Round 12 Pairings – April 12, 2026
Open Section:
Andrey Esipenko vs R Praggnanandhaa
Matthias Blübaum vs Fabiano Caruana
Javokhir Sindarov vs Hikaru Nakamura
Wei Yi vs Anish Giri
Women’s Section:
Anna Muzychuk vs Aleksandra Goryachkina
Vaishali Rameshbabu vs Zhu Jiner
Divya Deshmukh vs Tan Zhongyi
Bibisara Assaubayeva vs Kateryna Lagno
