{"id":11315,"date":"2026-04-06T09:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T02:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/?p=11315"},"modified":"2026-04-06T09:00:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T02:00:14","slug":"sindarov-dominates-at-the-halfway-mark-muzychuk-retains-the-lead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/sindarov-dominates-at-the-halfway-mark-muzychuk-retains-the-lead\/","title":{"rendered":"Sindarov dominates at the halfway mark, Muzychuk retains the lead"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A draw against Anish Giri, saw Javokhir Sindarov finish the first half of the FIDE Candidates Tournament in the lead with an impressive six points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He now holds a clear 1\u00bd point advantage over Fabiano Caruana at the tournament taking place in Cyprus. Wei Yi scored his first win of the tournament in a fantastic attacking game with Andrey Esipenko.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Women\u2019s FIDE Candidates, R Vaishali defeated Tan Zhongyi and now sits just a half-point behind Anna Muzychuk, who continues to lead the standings with 4\u00bd\/7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the FIDE Candidates Tournament, much of the attention was focused on the game between Sindarov and Giri. At the same time, the clash between Fabiano Caruana and R Praggnanandhaa carried major implications for second place. However, the spotlight ultimately fell on Wei Yi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wei Yi took full advantage of Esipenko\u2019s questionable opening choices, producing a brilliant attacking game reminiscent of the style that first brought him global fame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
At this moment, Black is practically playing with an extra rook due to the terrible placement of White\u2019s rook on a1. The key question: how to break through?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wei Yi found a stunning solution: 22\u2026Rc4! An incredible exchange sacrifice. Esipenko could not accept it, as opening the b-file would have led to immediate disaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
A few moves later, the pressure became unbearable. There was no thought of retreat, Wei Yi continued energetically with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
26\u2026Bb5! After: 27.bxc4 Bxc4 28.Bc2 Bd3! White\u2019s position is beyond repair. Esipenko soon resigned after: 29.Bc3 bxc3 30.Nc1 Rb8+ with a forced mate incoming. A beautiful finishing line: 31.Nb3 Qa3! 32.Bxd3 Rxb3+ 33.axb3 Qxb3+ 34.Kc1 Bf4+ 35.Qd2 Bxd2#<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wei Yi revealed his preparation: \u201cIn Goa I played him twice in the Petrov, and he showed interesting ideas in the 5.Nc3 variation. Today 4.Qe2 was a surprise: it has ideas with long castling and a kingside attack, so I needed to be careful. I chose safe moves. After 14\u2026Qe8!, I didn\u2019t see any good options for White, I think he underestimated that move.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sindarov pushed hard to create winning chances against Anish Giri in a well-known Ragozin variation of the Queen\u2019s Gambit. Despite Sindarov\u2019s efforts, Giri\u2019s defensive technique proved impeccable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both players steered clear of major inaccuracies, and in the endgame, Giri demonstrated his deep understanding by constructing a fortress, even while an exchange down, comfortably holding the position to a draw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Facing R Praggnanandhaa with the black pieces, Fabiano Caruana opted for the ever-reliable Slav Defence, a choice that appeared to catch his opponent off guard. Praggnanandhaa spent significant time navigating the resulting complications, but once again showed remarkable composure and class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Caruana managed to obtain a small initiative, highlighted by a strong knight planted on d3, yet the Indian grandmaster neutralized all threats efficiently and secured a solid draw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the final game of the FIDE Candidates Tournament round, Matthias Bluebaum unveiled excellent opening preparation against Hikaru Nakamura. By move twenty, Bluebaum had built a significant advantage on the clock, nearly an hour ahead, while Nakamura was forced to calculate precisely just to stay in the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the pressure, Nakamura showed exceptional resilience and accuracy, reportedly playing at a remarkable 99% precision. His performance served as a reminder that, even if the tournament standings may not favor him, he remains one of the most formidable players in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first game to finish in the FIDE Women\u2019s Candidates Tournament was a relatively short affair. Playing with the black pieces, Bibisara Assaubayeva equalised comfortably in the Rossolimo Attack against Anna Muzychuk. In fact, coming out of the opening, Assaubayeva not only achieved full equality but also held a slight advantage on the clock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A draw was agreed by threefold repetition on move 26. The result suited both players: Muzychuk completed the first half of the tournament as the sole leader, while Assaubayeva halted a difficult run and picked up an important half-point after two consecutive losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The remaining games stretched much longer, such as the battle between Aleksandra Goryachkina and Zhu Jiner. Their open Ruy Lopez battle lasted an impressive 70 moves and was marked by extraordinary precision from both sides. The accuracy evaluation hovered at an astonishing 99% throughout the game, highlighting the near-flawless quality of play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the end, neither player was able to break through, and the game concluded in a well-earned draw, an outstanding display of elite-level chess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Contrary to the earlier games, Tan Zhongyi was pushing hard for a win against Vaishali and achieved an overwhelming advantage, but let it slip away with one imprudent move. \u00a0She kept pressing when disaster suddenly struck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
At this moment, almost any reasonable move would have left Tan with a healthy extra pawn. Engines suggest that Vaishali could still aim for a draw, but practically speaking, being a pawn down always carries risk at this level.  There was, however, one critical mistake to avoid:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
37\u2026Ra1?? which allowed 38.Rxf6! 38\u2026Kxf6 39.Bd4+ winning a piece and turning the game decisively in White\u2019s favour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The final game of the round became one of the longest in the history of the FIDE Women\u2019s Candidates Tournament. Divya Deshmukh and Kateryna Lagno battled all the way to move 135 before finally agreeing to a draw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Divya held the upper hand for much of the game, pressing persistently for a win. However, Lagno\u2019s defensive resilience proved extraordinary, and she managed to hold the position under immense pressure. After such a grueling encounter, both players head into the rest day with a balanced score of 50%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Standings after Round 7:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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A draw against Anish Giri, saw Javokhir Sindarov finish the first half of the FIDE Candidates Tournament in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11316,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[39],"class_list":["post-11315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-chess"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t