Javokhir Sindarov leads the FIDE Candidates by 1.5 points at the half way stage

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FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 (7)

Javokhir Sindarov leads the FIDE Candidates by 1.5 points at the half way stage

Mark Crowther - Sunday 5th April 2026

Wei Yi was relieved to score a win after a very difficult first half of the Candidates. Esipenko has struggled and this prolonged pressure probably explains his serious error today. Photo ©

Wei Yi was relieved to score a win after a very difficult first half of the Candidates. Esipenko has struggled and this prolonged pressure probably explains his serious error today. Photo © | https://candidates2026.fide.com

Javokhir Sindarov has finished the first half of the FIDE Candidates on 6/7 following a draw against Anish Giri. Although Sindarov was better Giri's defence was very accurate and really there didn't seem to be any winning chances.

The only decisive game of the day was when Wei Yi took advantage of a gruesome blunder by Andrey Esipenko, this was a case of Esipenko mixing up his move order in a sharp position and being left with a position that was basically unplayable. Bluebaum vs Nakamura and Praggnanandhaa vs Caruana were both drawn in games not without interest.

In the Women's event Anna Muzychuk still leads, Rameshbabu Vaishali hasn't looked all that convincing but two days of turn arounds mean that instead of being potentially out of it she's just half a point behind the leader.

FIDE Women Candidates Round 7 (of 14) Standings: 1st Javokhir Sindarov, 5½/7. 2nd Fabiano Caruana, 4. 3rd-4th R Praggnanandhaa and Anish Giri, 3. 5th Matthias Bluebaum, 2½. 6th-8th Andrey Esipenko, Yi Wei and Hikaru Nakamura, 2. 8 players.

FIDE Women Candidates Round 7 (of 14) Standings: 1st Anna Muzychuk, 4½/7. 2nd Rameshbabu Vaishali, 4. 3rd-6th Aleksandra Goryachkina, Jiner Zhu, Deshmukh Divya and Kateryna Lagno, 3½. 7th Bibisara Assaubayeva, 3. 8th Zhongyi Tan, 2½. 8 players.

Rest Day Monday 6th April

Round 8 13:30BST Tuesday 7th April 2026. Andrey Esipenko — Javokhir Sindarov Wei Yi — Matthias Bluebaum Anish Giri — Praggnanandhaa R Hikaru Nakamura — Fabiano Caruana

FIDE Women’s Candidates Round 8 Anna Muzychuk — Divya Deshmukh Bibisara Assaubayeva — Vaishali Rameshbabu Kateryna Lagno — Aleksandra Goryachkina Tan Zhongyi — Zhu Jiner

Round 7 Summary

Andrey Esipenko 0—1 Wei Yi

The only decisive game of the day. Esipenko played the very rare Qe2 against Wei Yi's Petroff. In a sharp position he almost certainly misremembered his lines and instead of 0-0-0 he played the very weak Bd2 and was in terrible trouble for the rest of the game. These are certainly testing times for Esipenko.

Javokhir Sindarov ½—½ Anish Giri

A theoretical Ragozin variation where Giri eventually forgot the most accurate move and had to suffer a little bit for the draw. Giri sacrificed an exchange to obtain a fortress and defended it accurately.

Matthias Bluebaum ½—½ Hikaru Nakamura

A long theoretical battle where Bluebaum's small advantage didn't add up to very much.

Praggnanandhaa R ½—½ Fabiano Caruana

A sharp well played Slav that finished in a draw.

FIDE Women’s Candidates Round 7

Anna Muzychuk ½—½ Bibisara Assaubayeva

A fairly dull draw which keeps Muzychuk in the lead.

Divya Deshmukh ½—½ Kateryna Lagno

Divya Deshmukh was much better out of the opening but Kateryna Lagno proved difficult to put away and the game finished in a draw in 135 moves.

Vaishali Rameshbabu 1—0 Tan Zhongyi

Rameshbabu Vaishali got very lucky for the second day in a row. She was outplayed by Tan Zhongyi who missed some clear wins before entering a Rook, Bishop and 4 Pawns vs Rook, Bishop and 3 Pawns endgame where she suddenly blundered a piece.

Aleksandra Goryachkina ½—½ Zhu Jiner

Goryachkina pushed hard for a win against Zhu Jiner but had to settle for a draw in the end.

FIDE Candidates 2026 Pegeia CYP (CYP), 29 iii-16 iv 2026																			cat. XX (2749)
					1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8
1.	Sindarov, Javokhir	g	UZB	2745	*	*	1	.	½	.	1	.	½	.	1	.	1	.	1	.	6	3058
2.	Caruana, Fabiano	g	USA	2795	0	.	*	*	½	.	½	.	1	.	1	.	1	.	½	.	4½	2844
3.	Giri, Anish	g	NED	2753	½	.	½	.	*	*	0	.	½	.	½	.	½	.	1	.	3½	2748
4.	Praggnanandhaa, R	g	IND	2741	0	.	½	.	1	.	*	*	½	.	½	.	½	.	½	.	3½	2750
5.	Bluebaum, Matthias	g	GER	2698	½	.	0	.	½	.	½	.	*	*	½	.	½	.	½	.	3	2706
6.	Wei, Yi	g	CHN	2754	0	.	0	.	½	.	½	.	½	.	*	*	½	.	1	.	3	2698
7.	Nakamura, Hikaru	g	USA	2810	0	.	0	.	½	.	½	.	½	.	½	.	*	*	½	.	2½	2638
8.	Esipenko, Andrey	g	RUS	2698	0	.	½	.	0	.	½	.	½	.	0	.	½	.	*	*	2	2598

Round 7 (April 5, 2026)
Sindarov, Javokhir	- Giri, Anish	½-½	85	D38	QGD Ragozin
Praggnanandhaa, R	- Caruana, Fabiano	½-½	38	D17	Slav Defence
Bluebaum, Matthias	- Nakamura, Hikaru	½-½	40	D37	QGD 5.Bf4
Esipenko, Andrey	- Wei, Yi	0-1	30	C43	Petroff's Defence

FIDE Women Candidates Pegeia CYP (CYP), 29 iii-16 iv 2026																			cat. XI (2520)
					1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8
1.	Muzychuk, Anna	g	UKR	2522	*	*	½	.	½	.	1	.	½	.	1	.	½	.	½	.	4½	2621
2.	Vaishali, Rameshbabu	g	IND	2470	½	.	*	*	½	.	0	.	½	.	1	.	½	.	1	.	4	2577
3.	Goryachkina, Aleksandra	g	FID	2534	½	.	½	.	*	*	½	.	½	.	½	.	½	.	½	.	3½	2518
4.	Zhu, Jiner	g	CHN	2578	0	.	1	.	½	.	*	*	1	.	½	.	0	.	½	.	3½	2511
5.	Divya, Deshmukh	g	IND	2497	½	.	½	.	½	.	0	.	*	*	½	.	1	.	½	.	3½	2523
6.	Lagno, Kateryna	g	RUS	2508	0	.	0	.	½	.	½	.	½	.	*	*	1	.	1	.	3½	2521
7.	Assaubayeva, Bibisara	g	KAZ	2516	½	.	½	.	½	.	1	.	0	.	0	.	*	*	½	.	3	2470
8.	Tan, Zhongyi	g	CHN	2535	½	.	0	.	½	.	½	.	½	.	0	.	½	.	*	*	2½	2415

Round 7 (April 5, 2026)
Muzychuk, Anna	- Assaubayeva, Bibisara	½-½	26	B30	Sicilian Rossolimo
Vaishali, Rameshbabu	- Tan, Zhongyi	1-0	51	B00	Owen or Nimzowitsch Defence
Goryachkina, Aleksandra	- Zhu, Jiner	½-½	70	C80	Ruy Lopez Open
Divya, Deshmukh	- Lagno, Kateryna	½-½	135	A13	Reti Opening

Round 7 Commentary

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