Sindarov extends his lead to two points in the Candidates even after a draw in Round 8 - 8

Javokhir Sindarov is in the poll position of the FIDE Candidates in Cyprus after drawing with Andrey Esipenko in Round 8 and moving to 6.5/8. Sindarov was barely troubled in the first game to finish. Sindarov's closest challenger was Fabiano Caruana but he was defeated by a determined Hikaru Nakamura. Anish Giri joined Caruana in a tie for second place two points behind Sindarov after beating Praggnanandhaa, the gap is still a bit too far to make Giri optimistic but he's in touch if Sindarov starts to lose. Wei Yi drew against Bluebaum in the other game.

The women's event was blown wide open by an extraordinary reversal of fortunes for Anna Muzychuk in her game against Divya Deshmukh. Muzychuk was heading for victory on move 40, she chose second best and only a few moves later the position was equal, she missed something else and lost the game. That meant five of the eight players are tied for the lead.

Open Round 8 (of 14) Standings: 1st Javokhir Sindarov, 6½/8. 2nd-3rd Anish Giri and Fabiano Caruana, 4½. 4th-7th Matthias Bluebaum, R Praggnanandhaa, Hikaru Nakamura and Yi Wei, 3½. 8th Andrey Esipenko, 2½. 8 players. FIDE Women Candidates DRR.

Women's Round 8 (of 14) Standings: 1st-5th Anna Muzychuk, Deshmukh Divya, Rameshbabu Vaishali, Jiner Zhu and Kateryna Lagno, 4½/8. 6th-7th Aleksandra Goryachkina and Bibisara Assaubayeva, 3½. 8th Zhongyi Tan, 2½. 8 players.

Round 9 Wednesday 8th April 2026. FIDE Candidates Hikaru Nakamura — Andrey Esipenko Fabiano Caruana — Anish Giri Praggnanandhaa R — Wei Yi Matthias Bluebaum — Javokhir Sindarov

FIDE Women’s Candidates Round 9 Tan Zhongyi — Anna Muzychuk Zhu Jiner — Kateryna Lagno Aleksandra Goryachkina — Bibisara Assaubayeva Vaishali Rameshbabu — Divya Deshmukh