New Delhi: Uzbek chess grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov returned to winning form in Round 10 of the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026, defeating R Praggnanandhaa to strengthen his lead in the Open section on Thursday. Sindarov now has eight points and has completed a double victory over the Indian grandmaster.
The result, combined with Anish Giri holding Hikaru Nakamura to a draw, helped Sindarov open a two-point gap at the top ahead of the rest day on Friday.
Praggnanandhaa began the game on a positive note but faltered on move 22 with Bd7. The move allowed Sindarov to build pressure along the f-file and target the king. Sindarov responded with a decisive rook lift, followed by a calculated exchange sacrifice that exposed the black king, according to fide.com.
He converted the advantage with precise play, gaining full control of the position. With sustained checks and active rook play, Sindarov left Praggnanandhaa without counterplay, forcing his resignation in a losing position.
In other Open section games, Andrey Esipenko drew with Matthias Bluebaum, while Fabiano Caruana shared the points with Wei Yi.
In the women’s section, R Vaishali moved into the sole lead with six points after Zhu Jiner suffered a defeat. Vaishali secured a composed draw against Anna Muzychuk, handling a kingside attack with timely exchanges and central counterplay.
She simplified the position into an equal endgame after neutralising pawn advances and maintaining king safety. The game ended in a balanced draw as neither side found opportunities to press further without risk.
In another encounter, Divya Deshmukh came under time pressure in a favourable position. Aleksandra Goryachkina capitalised on the inaccuracies that followed, and Divya eventually resigned.
Elsewhere, Kateryna Lagno drew with Tan Zhongyi, while Bibisara Assaubayeva defeated Zhu Jiner.
