On a pivotal day at the parallel Candidates chess tournaments held in Cyprus, siblings R Praggnanandhaa and R Vaishali attracted significant attention. The 20-year-old chess prodigy faced a setback, suffering his second defeat in the event against Uzbekistan’s rising star, Javokhir Sindarov. Meanwhile, Vaishali managed to secure a draw against Anna Muzychuk, maintaining her unbeaten streak of five games, which bolsters her prospects in the Women’s Candidates. Following Vaishali’s draw and Bibisara Assaubayeva’s victory over Zhu Jiner, she has emerged as the sole leader in the women’s section, with just four rounds remaining.
Entering Thursday’s matches, Vaishali and Zhu were tied for the lead. However, their outcomes in Round 10 were quite different; Vaishali achieved a swift draw, while Zhu struggled in the endgame against Bibisara, ultimately losing her match.
After her impressive win against fellow Indian player Divya Deshmukh in Round 9, Vaishali showcased her strategy for success, revealing that she has been collaborating with a psychologist to enhance her mental strength for this crucial tournament. Although she remained tight-lipped about her coach’s identity, the positive impact of this preparation was evident in her performance.
Vaishali’s first experience at the Candidates tournament in Toronto two years ago was marked by emotional highs and lows, as she started with four consecutive losses, leaving her at the bottom of the leaderboard after nine rounds. However, she rallied to win her last five games, ultimately finishing tied for second place. In a similar turn of events this year in Cyprus, she found herself in a challenging position after five rounds, but her subsequent three victories and two draws have propelled her to the top.
In contrast, Praggnanandhaa’s defeat to Sindarov has effectively eliminated his chances of clinching the title, as he now trails the Uzbek player by four points with only four rounds left in the tournament. Sindarov currently leads with eight points, holding a two-point advantage over Anish Giri.
Praggnanandhaa entered the tournament with a strong historical record against Sindarov, having won four of their previous ten classical encounters. However, the Uzbek player has decisively overturned this statistic in Cyprus by winning both matchups against the Indian player.
Sindarov expressed his eagerness to compete against Praggnanandhaa, noting their long-standing rivalry that dates back to their childhood. “I’ve been looking forward to facing Pragg at the Candidates. I first played him when we were both seven years old, and even then, I recognized his potential to become one of the world’s top players,” Sindarov remarked, adding with humor that his own achievements might have looked different had Pragg not been in the picture during their formative years.
The crucial moment in their latest match occurred on move 22, when Praggnanandhaa made a poor bishop move to d7, leading to a significant disadvantage. Although he had an extra bishop, Sindarov’s two additional pawns shifted the balance of power. Following Praggnanandhaa’s blunder, Sindarov opted to sacrifice his queen, which allowed him to capture both of Praggnanandhaa’s rooks, maintaining this material imbalance until the game concluded.
In the latter half of the tournament, Sindarov has shown a willingness to settle for draws, as evidenced by his previous match against Matthias Bluebaum. However, against Praggnanandhaa, he pursued a win, achieving it on the 53rd move.
Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand commented on Praggnanandhaa’s performance, stating, “Despite his poor score, Pragg’s play has been commendable. He has demonstrated some innovative ideas, but unfortunately, he has lost three games since his initial victory.”
Amit Kamath serves as the Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, based in Mumbai, where he primarily covers chess and Olympic sports. He co-hosts the Game Time podcast and contributes a weekly chess column titled “On The Moves.”
