Cyprus, 08 April (H.S.): India's Divya Deshmukh claimed joint lead in the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 by defeating top-seeded Anna Muzychuk in round eight on Tuesday, while compatriot R Praggnanandhaa suffered a setback in the open section.
Deshmukh's Dramatic Victory
In her debut Candidates appearance, the 19-year-old Indian Grandmaster weathered early pressure before mounting a brilliant endgame comeback against Ukraine's Anna Muzychuk. Divya joined Muzychuk, R Vaishali, Zhu Jiner, and Kateryna Lagno atop the leaderboard on 4.5/8 points.
Muzychuk dominated the middlegame and early endgame, steering toward a draw, but Divya unleashed checks from move 76, exposing the Ukrainian's king. A critical error on move 80 allowed Deshmukh's decisive assault in a Sicilian Accelerated Dragon, sealing the win after 80 moves.
Women's Section Roundup
Vaishali Rameshbabu drew with Bibisara Assaubayeva, Lagno beat Aleksandra Goryachkina, and Zhu Jiner prevailed over Tan Zhongyi, tightening the leaders' race.
Open Section Developments
Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov and Russia's Andrey Esipenko drew their top-board clash, maintaining balance through a solid middlegame. Praggnanandhaa fell to Netherlands' Anish Giri, who applied pressure with 36.e6, forcing the Indian's resignation—his second loss in the event.
Hikaru Nakamura notched his first victory by defeating Fabiano Caruana, while Wei Yi drew with Matthias Bluebaum.The tournament, hosted in Cyprus from March 28 to April 16, intensifies as challengers vie for shots at reigning champions D Gukesh and Ju Wenjun.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
