In a pivotal day for the standings in the Open and Women’s Candidates tournaments held in Cyprus, R Praggnanandhaa suffered a defeat against Dutch grandmaster Anish Giri, falling three points behind the leader, Javokhir Sindarov. Meanwhile, Divya Deshmukh achieved a remarkable victory in the Women’s Candidates tournament by defeating the frontrunner from Ukraine, Anna Muzychuk.
Divya’s win positions her alongside Vaishali Rameshbabu among the top five women competitors at the conclusion of the eighth round. This marked Divya’s second victory in the tournament and handed Muzychuk her first loss after she was called in as a last-minute substitute for Koneru Humpy. R Vaishali managed to secure a draw against Bibisara Assaubayeva, allowing her to join the leading pack.
Divya’s success is particularly noteworthy considering the intense pressure she faced from the outset, with Muzychuk demonstrating impressive opening preparation. Chess legend Judit Polgar remarked during the Chess24 commentary, “Divya must have felt like conceding by move 25. The position Anna had was incredible; she was in a winning position. It’s hard to believe she could let it slip away! Then, in a surprising turn of events, she began to make one blunder after another.”
On the other hand, Praggnanandhaa experienced disappointment as he grappled with the reality of his match against Giri. For several minutes, the 20-year-old from Chennai sat in silence, processing the inevitable outcome of the game. While Giri returned to the players’ lounge, Praggnanandhaa remained deep in thought about the match.
Ultimately, when Giri returned, Praggnanandhaa resigned, a result that may severely diminish his chances of winning the Candidates tournament, following a similar disappointment in Toronto two years prior.
Following his loss to Giri, Praggnanandhaa stands at 3.5 points, trailing three points behind the leader, Sindarov, who concluded his match against Andrey Esipenko with a quick draw. In the standings, Praggnanandhaa is now behind Fabiano Caruana and Giri, both of whom have 4.5 points. He is currently tied with three other players, with only Esipenko positioned below him.
Before the tournament began in Cyprus, Praggnanandhaa was considered a strong title contender, having gained valuable experience from the previous Candidates event and having performed well in 2025. However, his defeat in round 8, which lasted 44 moves with the black pieces, has clouded his aspirations of challenging fellow countryman D Gukesh at the World Chess Championship later this year.
At the halfway point of the Candidates tournament, both Giri and Praggnanandhaa were tied with 3.5 points, trailing Sindarov by 2.5 points. Giri’s victory, coupled with Sindarov’s draw against Esipenko, keeps the Dutch grandmaster’s hopes alive for his first World Chess Championship appearance.
Having previously lost to Praggnanandhaa in the tournament, Giri approached the board after a rest day armed with a unique opening strategy, introducing an unexpected move on the 11th turn by placing his knight on a3—a rarely used position due to its limitations on attacking opportunities.
Praggnanandhaa’s game took a downturn in the final moves leading up to the time control, shifting from a position that seemed to be heading towards a draw to one that ended in defeat for the Indian grandmaster.
Amit Kamath serves as the Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, based in Mumbai. He focuses on chess and Olympic sports and co-hosts the Game Time podcast, a weekly feature from Express Sports. Additionally, he writes a weekly chess column titled On The Moves.
