Chess Test Taker: Vaishali, Divya Deshmukh save India from blushing; Praggnanandhaa must act now

NEW DELHI: As the marathon 14-round match of the FIDE Candidates Championship approaches the midpoint, tension is beginning to hang in the Mediterranean air. For Team India, however, their story is divided into two parts: a desperate scramble for relevance in the Open section, and a gritty (albeit somewhat shaky) resurgence in the women’s section.While Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov is currently playing a version of chess that appears to be light years ahead of his peers and leads the Open section with a staggering 5.5/6, the Indian challenge, led single-handedly by R Praggnanandhaa in their respective categories, appears to be stuck in second gear.

In the women’s category, Vaishali Rameshbabu and Divya Deshmukh secured crucial victories with black in their sixth-round match at Cape St. George Hotel and Resort in Cyprus on Saturday, although those victories were as much down to their opponents’ collapse as to their own clinical performance.The Zindalov storm continuesIn the open category, the gap between leaders and chasers is widening into a chasm. Zindarov’s dominance has been so absolute that a World Championship match with D Gukesh later this year looks inevitable.Fabiano Caruana is second with 4 points, 1.5 points behind the leader, while India’s only hope Praggnanandhaa has 3 points.Senior master Pravin Thipsay pointed out when analyzing this round that although Praggnanandhaa showed his intentions against Hikaru Nakamura, his execution did not cause a decisive blow.“Pragnananda was really ambitious against Nakamura. He was black but he kept complicating the situation. However, Nakamura was able to find the right moves and the game ended with repeated moves as both players were forced to repeat otherwise they would have been at a disadvantage. It was a tight draw but still equal,” Tipsee told TOI after the day’s play. The real story, however, remains Zindarov, who destroys Wei Yi with surgical precision. Tipsey enthused that this marked a clear difference between the Uzbeks and the other players.“The best match of this round was the one between Wei Yi and Zindalov. Zindarov just beat him in a very strange positional battle. Wei Yi looked better, but Zindarov was actually better for a long time. The quality of the match was completely higher than the others, it was a different level entirely.” Tipsey explained.

If Zindalov continues like this, he’s bound to win the fight with one or two rounds left. While Caruana has been solid and consistent, Zindalov is just on a different level in this game. “FIDE Candidate Round 6 Results – April 4, 2026open part

Destiny favors the erratic people in the women’s clothing sectionIn the women’s category, the Indian team is finally finding some momentum, although the crucial lens remains focused on winning those points.Vaishali and Divya now join the chase, trailing leader Anna Muzychuk (4/6 points). Vasiali’s encounter with Katerina Ragnow was a rollercoaster, with the Indians choosing aggression at the expense of structural integrity.“Vaishali is trying to complicate matters at the cost of conceding his position,” Tipsai observed. “It’s unclear whether she would have been better off on move 20. When she was offered the h5 piece (move 22), it was a risky decision. Lagno could have taken it with 24.Qxh5 instead of 24.Rc1, which turned out to be a poor choice.” According to Tipsey, Vasiali’s persistence only paid off as Ragnow retreated into his shell.“Vaishali has been playing aggressively, while Lagno has been passive. In move 29, Vaishali offers a bishop sacrifice (…Bxh3), but this is unacceptable,” he noted. “By move 32, she sacrificed the same bishop (32…gxf3) in a different place, completely opening up the king’s position. Ragnow eventually had to give up on move 47, but the game was on a knife’s edge for a long time.”Divya’s Great EscapeDivya Deshmukh’s victory over Bibisara Assaubayeva followed a similar script of drifting, followed by a late-match rescue. Divia took advantage of her favorite Cambridge Springs defense and found herself in a rare change of pace between Magnus Carlsen and Vincent Keimer.“The positions were equal at the beginning, but Bibishara changed direction correctly in step 15, giving her a slight advantage. At this stage, Divya started to drift. When Bibi Sara opened the kingside, she faced serious difficulties on move 24,” Thipsay said. However, a series of unforced errors by Kazakh players threw the Indians a lifeline.“Bibi Sara chose to attack with the queen instead of the knight in move 26. 26.Ng4 would have given her a big advantage, but she played 26.Qe3. Then there was a series of inaccurate unforced errors: 27.c5, 28.c6. These moves were inferior to her previous play. Ultimately, Divya emerged victorious after 46 moves when she was given the opportunity to defeat her both strategically and tactically. “Despite Saturday’s good result, the Indian camp will remain wary. If Praggnanandhaa is to stop Sindarov’s dominance, and if the women are to surpass Muzychuk, then reliance on her opponent’s mistakes must be replaced by the clinical dominance currently displayed by the championship leader.FIDE Candidates Round 6 Results – April 4, 2026Women’s group

Matching Round 7 – April 5, 2026