[Event "FIDE Candidates 2026"]
[Site "Pegeia CYP"]
[Date "2026.03.30"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Wei Yi"]
[Black "Praggnanandhaa, R.."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "Mark Crowther"]
[ECO "C11"]
[EventDate "2026.03.29"]

1.e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qd2 a6 9. Bd3 {C11: French: Classical System: 4 e5 and 4 Bg5 dxe4.} O-O 10. O-O {[%eval 2,19] [%wdl 23,958,19] White is more active.} (10. dxc5 $16 {[%eval 79,20] [%wdl 307,692,1] Threatens to win with Na4.} Nxc5 11. Bxc5 (11. O-O-O) 11... Bxc5 12. Bxh7+ {is a scarey looking line that black would have to have prepared.}) 10... f6 $11 11. exf6 Nxf6 12. Kh1 (12. dxc5 d4 13. Nxd4 Nxd4 $17) 12... b6 (12... c4 $5 13. Be2 $8 Bb4 $11) 13. Ne5 (13. b3 {is about equal.}) 13... Qc7 14. Rae1 $146 ({Predecessor:} 14. Nxc6 Qxc6 15. Rae1 c4 16. Be2 b5 17. Bf3 b4 18. Ne2 {0-1 Heyn,W (1972)-Ress,J (2156) SA-2013-0-00348 LSS email}) 14... Bd6 (14... Bb7) 15. Nxc6 Qxc6 16. Be2 Ra7 (16... c4) 17. Bf3 {[%cal Of4f5]} Raf7 $11 (17... c4) 18. f5 c4 19. Bg5 Bb4 $1 20. Qe2 {[%cal Rf5e6]} Bxc3 21. fxe6 Re7 22. bxc3 Rxe6 23. Qd2 Ne4 24. Bxe4 Rxf1+ 25. Rxf1 Rxe4 26. Bf4 Re7 27. Be5 {Opposite bishops and equal position} Qg6 28. Qf4 Rf7 29. Qxf7+ Qxf7 30. Rxf7 Kxf7 {[%mdl 4096] The game is going to be drawn.} 31. Kg1 Bf5 32. Kf2 Bxc2 33. Bc7 b5 34. a3 Ke6 35. Ke3 Kf5 36. h3 h5 37. g3 g5 38. Bd8 Bd3 39. h4 Kg4 40. Bxg5 Kxg3 41. Bd8 Be4 42. Be7 Kg2 43. Bd8 Kf1 44. Kd2 Kf2 45. Be7 Kf3 46. Bd8 1/2-1/2

[Event "FIDE Candidates 2026"]
[Site "Pegeia CYP"]
[Date "2026.03.30"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Sindarov, Javokhir"]
[Black "Bluebaum, Matthias"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "Mark Crowther"]
[ECO "C42"]
[EventDate "2026.03.29"]

1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nd3 Nxe4 5. Qe2 Qe7 $1 6. Nf4 {C42: Petroff Defence: 3 Nxe5 and unusual White 3rd moves.} c6 {Repels Nd5} 7. f3 Nf6 8. d4 Bf5 {[%cal Bc8f5,Bf5h7,Bh7g6][%mdl 32]} 9. c3 Qxe2+ 10. Bxe2 h5 11. Na3 $146 {[%cal Bb1a3,Ba3c4,Bc4e3][%mdl 32] This seems a little bit odd but it is at least new.} ({Predecessor:} 11. Kf2 Nbd7 12. h4 O-O-O 13. Nd2 d5 14. Nf1 Bd6 15. Ng3 Bc2 16. Bd2 Nf8 17. Rac1 Bxf4 18. Bxf4 {1-0 Sivuk,V (2514)-Kacharava,N (2424) EU-ch 20th Skopje 2019 (8)}) 11... Na6 {[%cal Bb8a6,Ba6c7,Bc7e6][%mdl 32]} 12. Nc4 Nc7 13. Ne3 Bh7 14. h4 Kd7 15. Kf2 Re8 16. g3 {[%cal Od4d5]} (16. d5 $5 {Seems like the right idea.}) 16... Ne6 17. Nh3 {[%cal Od4d5]} d5 18. Ng5 Bg6 19. Bf1 {[%cal Be2f1,Bf1h3,Bh3f5,Bf5c2][%mdl 32]} Nh7 20. Bh3 Nhxg5 21. hxg5 Kc7 22. Nf5 Bxf5 23. Bxf5 g6 24. Bc2 Bd6 25. Be3 Re7 26. Rae1 Rhe8 {[%cal Oe6g5]} 27. f4 Ng7 28. Kf3 Kd7 29. Bf2 Rxe1 30. Bxe1 Rf8 31. g4 f5 32. gxh5 Nxh5 33. Bd2 Rh8 34. Bd3 Rh7 {[%cal Oh5f6]} 35. Bxf5+ gxf5 36. g6 {[%mdl 64]} Rg7 37. Rxh5 $11 {[%mdl 4096]} Ke6 $1 38. Rh6 Kf6 39. Be1 Rxg6 40. Rh7 Rg7 41. Rh6+ Rg6 42. Rh7 Rg7 1/2-1/2

[Event "FIDE Candidates 2026"]
[Site "Pegeia CYP"]
[Date "2026.03.30"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "Mark Crowther"]
[ECO "D30"]
[EventDate "2026.03.29"]

1.d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 {[%cal Bg1f3,Bf3d2,Bd2c4][%mdl 32]} Nd7 {The tenth most common move. I've never seen it before but it's fine.} 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Rb8 6. a4 {D30: Queen's Gambit Declined: Systems without Nc3.} b6 7. Nfd2 a5 $146 ({Predecessor:} 7... Qf6 8. Nxc4 Bb4+ 9. Nc3 Ba6 10. Na3 Ne7 11. Nc2 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 O-O 13. O-O e5 {½-½ Matlakov,M (2602)-Aronian,L (2756) Wch Rapid op Doha 2025 (12)}) 8. Nxc4 {White is slightly better.} Ba6 9. Nba3 Bb4+ {It's not clear to me why this luring Bd2 which helps support b4 is a good idea.} 10. Bd2 Bxa3 11. Nxa3 Ne7 12. O-O O-O 13. b4 axb4 14. Bxb4 c5 15. Bc3 Nf5 16. Nb5 Bxb5 17. axb5 {And now dxc5 would win.} cxd4 18. Bxd4 Nxd4 19. Qxd4 Nc5 20. Rad1 Qxd4 21. Rxd4 Rfd8 22. Rfd1 Rxd4 23. Rxd4 $11 {[%mdl 4096] It's equal and soon a draw.} Kf8 24. Rd6 Ke7 25. Rc6 Rd8 26. f4 Rd6 27. Rc7+ Rd7 28. Rc6 Rd6 29. Rc7+ Rd7 30. Rc6 Rd6 1/2-1/2

[Event "FIDE Candidates 2026"]
[Site "Pegeia CYP"]
[Date "2026.03.30"]
[Round "2.4"]
[White "Esipenko, Andrey"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "Mark Crowther"]
[ECO "A13"]
[EventDate "2026.03.29"]

1.c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. Nf3 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. O-O Be7 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 O-O 9. Qb3 {D02: 1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 sidelines, including 2...Nf6 3 g3 and 2...Nf6 3 Bf4.} Nc6 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. e4 {White is slightly better.} Nf6 12. h3 $146 ({Predecessor:} 12. Nc3 Qc7 13. h3 Rb8 14. Qc2 Bc5 15. Ne2 Bb6 16. Bf4 e5 17. Bg5 Nd7 18. Be7 {½-½ Javakhishvili,L (2451)-Muzychuk,A (2525) Tbilisi FIDE GP (Women) 2024 (9)}) 12... Ba6 13. Rd1 Qb6 14. Be3 Bc5 15. Bxc5 Qxc5 16. Qc3 Qb6 17. Nd2 c5 18. b3 Rad8 19. Nc4 Bxc4 20. Qxc4 e5 21. Rac1 Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 a5 23. Rc1 {[%cal Bd1c1,Bc1c2,Bc2d2][%mdl 32]} Rc8 24. Qc3 {The plan is to put the bishop on c4 and claim something.} Qc7 25. h4 h6 26. Rc2 g6 27. Qe3 Qd8 28. Rd2 Qb6 29. Bf1 {[%cal Of1c4]} Kg7 30. a4 Rc6 $1 {[%cal Bc8c6,Bc6b6,Bb6b4][%mdl 32]} 31. Rc2 c4 (31... Rd6) 32. Qxb6 Rxb6 33. Bxc4 Nxe4 $11 {[%mdl 4096]} 34. Re2 f5 35. f3 Nd6 (35... Nc5) 36. Rxe5 Nxc4 37. bxc4 {KR-KR. White is a pawn up.} Rb4 {[%csl Ba4,Bc4]} 38. Rxa5 Rxc4 39. Ra7+ Kf6 40. a5 Rc3 41. Kf2 {This is a technical draw.} Rc2+ 42. Ke3 Rc3+ 43. Ke2 Rc2+ $1 44. Kd3 Rg2 45. Ra6+ Kf7 46. Kd4 Rxg3 47. Ke5 Rxf3 48. Ra7+ {The position is equal.} Ke8 49. a6 Ra3 50. Ke6 {[%cal Ra7a8]} Kd8 51. Kf6 1/2-1/2

[Event "FIDE Women Candidates"]
[Site "Pegeia CYP"]
[Date "2026.03.30"]
[Round "2.1"]
[White "Lagno, Kateryna"]
[Black "Zhu, Jiner"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "Mark Crowther"]
[ECO "C07"]
[EventDate "2026.03.29"]

1.e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. Ngf3 cxd4 5. exd5 Qxd5 6. Bc4 Qd6 7. Ne4 {C07: French Tarrasch: 3...c5, 4 Ngf3 and 4 exd5 Qxd5.} Qb4+ 8. Nfd2 Nf6 9. Nxf6+ gxf6 10. O-O {[%cal Oc2c3]} Nc6 11. Re1 $146 {[%cal Oc2c3]} ({Predecessor:} 11. c3 Qb6 12. Ne4 Be7 13. Qh5 Bd7 14. Qh6 O-O-O 15. Nxf6 Qc5 16. Bb3 dxc3 17. bxc3 {½-½ Hera,I (2522)-Badacsonyi,S (2298) London Classic op 14th 2024 (4)}) 11... Bd7 12. c3 Qb6 13. cxd4 $6 {[%eval -45,18] [%wdl 1,937,62] Black could already be happy with the result of her opening, now she's better.} (13. Bf1 $14 {[%eval 40,20] [%wdl 51,948,1]}) 13... Qxd4 $15 14. Ne4 Be7 15. Qe2 f5 16. Nc3 Qg4 (16... Qh4 $5) 17. f3 $6 Qg7 (17... Qh4) 18. Bf4 $2 {[%eval -177,18] [%wdl 0,20,980]} (18. Rd1 $17 {[%eval -84,20] [%wdl 0,693,307]}) 18... Nd4 $1 $19 {Now black is winning.} 19. Qf2 Nxf3+ $6 {[%eval -124,20] [%wdl 0,221,779][%mdl 512] Good but not the best.} (19... Bc5 20. Be3 (20. Re3 O-O-O) 20... f4) 20. Qxf3 $17 Qd4+ 21. Kh1 Qxc4 22. Qg3 {Wards off Rg8} Bc6 23. Rad1 Bf6 {Against Qg7} 24. h3 h5 25. h4 $2 {[%eval -257,15] [%wdl 0,0,1000] Again black is clearly winning.} (25. Be5 $17 {[%eval -111,19] [%wdl 0,348,652]} h4 26. Qh2) 25... Rd8 $19 26. Bg5 {[%eval -364,17] [%wdl 0,0,1000]} (26. Kh2 $142 {[%eval -236,19] [%wdl 0,0,1000]}) 26... Bxg5 27. Qxg5 Rc8 $2 {[%eval 0,24] [%wdl 2,996,2] Now time trouble rears its ugly head.} (27... Rd7 $19 {[%eval -328,16] [%wdl 0,0,1000] Wins.} 28. Kh2 Qg4 29. Rxd7 Qxg5 (29... Kxd7 $2 30. Rd1+ Kc8 31. Qxg4 $19) (29... Bxd7 $2 30. Nd5 $19) 30. hxg5 Kxd7 (30... Bxd7 $2 31. Nd5 $19)) 28. Rd2 $2 {[%eval -404,17] [%wdl 0,0,1000][%mdl 8192]} (28. Nb5 $1 $11 {[%eval 0,24] [%wdl 2,996,2] Deflecting black's pieces was forced.} Qxb5 29. Rxe6+ Kf8 (29... fxe6 30. Qg6+ Kf8 31. Qf6+ Kg8 32. Qg6+ Kf8 33. Qf6+ Kg8 34. Qxe6+ Kg7 35. Qe7+ Kg8 36. Rd8+ Rxd8 37. Qe6+ Kg7 38. Qe7+ Kg8 39. Qe6+ Kg7 40. Qe7+ Kg8 $11) 30. a4 Qxb2 (30... Qxa4 31. Rd8+ Rxd8 32. Qe7+ Kg7 33. Qg5+ Kf8 34. Qxd8+ Kg7 35. Qf6+ Kg8 36. Qg5+ Kf8 37. Qe7+ Kg8 38. Qg5+ Kf8 39. Qd8+ Kg7 40. Qf6+ Kg8 41. Qg5+ $11) 31. Rd8+ Rxd8 32. Qxd8+ Kg7 33. Qg5+ Kf8 34. Qd8+) 28... Qb4 $2 {[%eval 0,42] [%wdl 2,996,2] Now white saves the game.} (28... Qg4 $19 {[%eval -404,17] [%wdl 0,0,1000]} 29. Nd5 (29. Qf6 O-O) 29... Qxg5 30. hxg5 Rd8 {[%mdl 64] Pin} 31. Nf6+ Ke7) 29. Rxe6+ $11 {[%mdl 64] Deflection. The position is equal.} fxe6 30. Qg6+ Kf8 31. Qf6+ Kg8 32. Qg6+ Kf8 33. Qf6+ Kg8 34. Qg6+ Kf8 1/2-1/2

[Event "FIDE Women Candidates"]
[Site "Pegeia CYP"]
[Date "2026.03.30"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Muzychuk, Anna"]
[Black "Tan, Zhongyi"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "Mark Crowther"]
[ECO "C42"]
[EventDate "2026.03.29"]

1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 {[%cal Bg8f6,Bf6e4,Be4c3][%mdl 32]} 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Be7 7. O-O Nc6 8. Nc3 {8.Nbd2 is becoming the main line.} Bf5 9. Re1 {[%cal Oc3d5] [#]} Nxc3 {C42: Petroff Defence: 3 Nxe5 and unusual White 3rd moves.} 10. bxc3 Bxd3 11. Qxd3 O-O 12. Rb1 b6 13. c4 Re8 14. Bd2 Qd7 15. cxd5 Qxd5 16. c4 Qd7 $146 ({Predecessor:} 16... Qd6 17. d5 Bf6 18. g3 Ne5 19. Nxe5 Bxe5 20. Qf5 Qg6 21. Qf3 Bd6 22. Kg2 {½-½ Steiger,W-De Buhr,G Team-ch L21K1-R(1-3) freechess.de 2023}) 17. d5 Bf6 18. h3 Ne5 {The position is equal.} 19. Nxe5 Bxe5 20. Re4 Re7 21. Rbe1 Rae8 22. Bb4 Bd6 23. Bc3 Rxe4 24. Rxe4 Rxe4 25. Qxe4 $11 {[%mdl 4096]} h6 26. g4 Qa4 27. Kg2 Qa3 28. Qe8+ Kh7 29. Qe4+ Kg8 30. Qe8+ Kh7 31. Qe4+ Kg8 32. Qe8+ Kh7 1/2-1/2

[Event "FIDE Women Candidates"]
[Site "Pegeia CYP"]
[Date "2026.03.30"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Divya, Deshmukh"]
[Black "Vaishali, Rameshbabu"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "Mark Crowther"]
[ECO "D31"]
[EventDate "2026.03.29"]

1.c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 h6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 c6 6. e3 {D31: Queen's Gambit Declined: Semi-Slav without ...Nf6 (+ Marshall Gambit and Noteboom) and Exchange Variation lines without ...Nf6.} Bd6 7. Bxd6 Qxd6 8. Bd3 Ne7 9. Qc2 O-O 10. Nf3 Nd7 11. O-O Nf6 12. h3 g6 13. Rab1 $146 ({Predecessor:} 13. Qb3 Rb8 14. Rfc1 Bf5 15. Be2 Rfc8 16. Qa4 Nd7 17. a3 Re8 18. Qd1 Nc8 19. Na4 {1-0 Sjugirov,S (2705)-Nagy,G (2439) HUN-chT 2324 Hungary 2023 (1.1)}) 13... a5 14. Na4 Bf5 15. Nc5 Qc7 16. Rfc1 Nd7 17. Na4 {[%cal Bc5a4,Ba4c3,Bc3e2,Be2f4][%mdl 32]} Rfe8 18. Nc3 Qd6 19. Ne2 Qf6 20. Nf4 Bxd3 21. Nxd3 Nf5 {Black has equalised now.} 22. b4 Nd6 23. a4 Qe7 24. bxa5 Rxa5 25. Rb4 Rea8 26. Rcb1 R8a7 27. Qb3 Qd8 28. Nfe5 Kg7 29. Qd1 Qe7 30. Qb3 Qd8 31. Qd1 Qe7 32. Nxd7 Qxd7 33. Nc5 Qc8 (33... Qc7 {simplifies} 34. Rb6 Nb5 35. Rxb7 Rxb7 36. Nxb7 Qxb7 37. axb5 Rxb5 38. Ra1 Rb4) 34. Qf3 {aiming for Qf4.} Ne4 $2 {[%eval 288,23] [%wdl 1000,0,0][%mdl 8192] A blunder that means black is lost.} (34... b5) (34... Qf8) 35. Rxb7 $18 Rxb7 36. Rxb7 Ng5 {[#]} 37. Qg3 $2 {[%eval 2,22] [%wdl 2,997,1] Missing a combination that saves black.} (37. Qg4 $1 $18 {[%eval 252,24] [%wdl 1000,0,0][%cal Rg4c8] The point is black's rook is completely out of play.} Qxg4 38. hxg4 Kg8 39. Rc7) 37... Rxc5 $1 $11 {[%cal Ba5c5,Bc5c1,Bc1a1][%mdl 96] Remove Defender} 38. Qe5+ $1 Kh7 39. Rb8 Rc1+ $1 40. Kh2 {The position is equal.} Qxh3+ $3 {[%mdl 64] The only saving move.} 41. gxh3 {[%csl Gb8][%cal Re5h8]} Nf3+ 42. Kg2 Nxe5 43. dxe5 Ra1 44. Ra8 1/2-1/2

[Event "FIDE Women Candidates"]
[Site "Pegeia CYP"]
[Date "2026.03.30"]
[Round "2.4"]
[White "Assaubayeva, Bibisara"]
[Black "Goryachkina, Aleksandra"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "Mark Crowther"]
[ECO "D41"]
[EventDate "2026.03.29"]

1.d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 cxd4 6. Qa4+ Bd7 7. Qxd4 exd5 8. Nxd5 Qa5+ 9. Nc3 Nc6 {Inhibits Qe5+.} 10. Qd1 Ne4 {[%cal Of8b4] Black sacrificed a pawn} 11. Bd2 Nxd2 12. Nxd2 {[%cal Bf3d2,Bd2c4,Bc4d6][%mdl 32]} Bb4 13. Rc1 Bxc3 14. Rxc3 Qxa2 15. Nc4 Be6 16. e4 Rd8 17. Nd6+ Kf8 $1 (17... Ke7 18. Qc1 Qa4 19. Nxb7 Qxe4+ 20. Be2 Rb8 21. Nc5 Qb4 22. Na6 Qxb2 23. Rxc6 Qxc1+ 24. Rxc1 Rb2 25. Nc5 Rc8 26. Bd3 a5 27. O-O Rd8 28. Rfe1 Rd4 29. Bc4 Rdd2 30. Nxe6 fxe6 31. Rxe6+ Kd7 32. Ra6 Rxf2 33. Bb5+ Kd8 34. Bf1 Rf5 35. Ra7 {1-0 Erigaisi,A (2782)-Wei,Y (2758) Norway Chess Armageddon 13th Stavanger rapid 2025 (6)}) 18. Qd2 Qa1+ 19. Rc1 Qa4 $146 ({Predecessor:} 19... Qa5 20. Qxa5 Nxa5 21. e5 f6 22. f4 fxe5 23. fxe5 Ke7 24. Bb5 Bd7 25. Rc7 Rhf8 {1-0 Moiseenko,A (2568)-Citak,S (2308) SRB-chT 1st League CS Novi Pazar 2025 (10.1)}) 20. Be2 f6 21. f4 Ke7 $132 {[%mdl 2048] [#] Prevents e5. Black has counterplay} 22. e5 Qd4 23. Qxd4 Nxd4 24. Nxb7 Rc8 25. Nc5 fxe5 26. fxe5 Rc6 {Threatens to win with ...Rhc8.} 27. Kf2 Nxe2 28. Kxe2 Rhc8 29. Nd3 ({Much worse is} 29. b4 a5 30. Ra1 axb4 31. Ra7+ R8c7 32. Rxc7+ Rxc7 $15) 29... Rc2+ ({But not} 29... Rxc1 30. Rxc1 Rxc1 31. Nxc1 $15) 30. Rxc2 Rxc2+ $11 {[%mdl 4096]} 31. Ke3 Bc4 32. g3 Bxd3 33. Kxd3 Rxb2 {KR-KR} 34. Ra1 Ke6 35. Rxa7 Kxe5 36. Rxg7 Rxh2 37. Ke3 Kf6 38. Ra7 Rh1 39. Kf3 Kg6 40. Ra6+ Kg7 1/2-1/2

