Candidates Round 10: Sindarov Further Cements Lead, Assaubayeva Jolts Zhu Out of First

GM Boris Gelfand makes the ceremonial first move for Sindarov – Praggnanandhaa. (Photo courtesy FIDE/Michal Walusza)

In Round 9, GM Javokhir Sindarov spoiled his chances to beat GM Matthias Bluebaum with one careless move. Would this throw off his chi and cause him to doubt himself more going into the later rounds? The answer seems to be a resounding “No!”

Photo courtesy FIDE/Niki Riga.

The Uzbek talent got back to his winning ways with a crushing win over GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu.

Graphic courtesy of FIDE

The rest of the games were drawn, which means that Sindarov’s lead over GM Anish Giri is a full two points once again.

Photo courtesy FIDE/Michal Walusza.

Neither Sindarov nor Pragg shied away from a sharp fight, and in the end it was only one mistake that caused the Indian player’s downfall. As has been the case virtually all event, the Uzbek was ready to pounce, and he converted with little difficulty.

Giri was looking to press GM Hikaru Nakamura as White, but the American’s position proved to be too difficult to crack.

Anish Giri looks for an edge against Hikaru Nakamura. (Photo courtesy FIDE/Niki Riga)

There was one moment where Anish could have gotten some minor chances, but once it passed by the result was never in doubt.

Photo courtesy FIDE/Niki Riga.

GM Andrey Esipenko and Bluebaum drew their game without a lot of fuss.

GM Wei Yi had a very slight edge against GM Fabiano Caruana, but it was never significant, and the American was able to snuff it out with little difficulty. I’m sure Fabi would have liked to bounce back with a win to make a play during the final stretch of the event, but he never really got that chance.

Today’s results certainly didn’t add to the intrigue, as Sindarov stretched his lead even further. Despite this, he’s still mathematically catchable, and there still might be some surprises in store for the final leg of the event.

Line — With each win, the line to meet Sindarov grows longer! (Photos courtesy FIDE/Michal Walusza)

For fans of intrigue, they need to look no further than the Women’s section. GM Zhu Jiner, the top seed and co-leader going into Round 10, was beaten by GM Bibisara Assaubayeva for the second time. This knocks her back to a share of second place with a plus-one score.

GM Aleksandra Goryachkina also picked up her first win in the event, beating GM Divya Deshmukh from a seemingly lifeless position. GM Kateryna Lagno was winning, but was unable to take her chance against GM Tan Zhongyi.

The sole leader after Round 10: Vaishali Rameshbabu. (Photo courtesy FIDE/Niki Riga)

Finally, GM Vaishali Rameshbabu held a draw comfortably as Black against GM Anna Muzychuk, allowing her to maintain a plus-two score and claim clear first place.

Graphic courtesy of FIDE

Muzychuk had a small edge at a couple points against Vaishali, but overall there were no real chances, and the Indian player secured a draw with little trouble.

Assaubayeva had an oversight in the opening, allowing her slight edge to turn into a position where she was a bit worse.

Bibisara Assaubayeva's second win over Zhu Jiner keeps her in contention entering the final stretch. (Photo courtesy FIDE/Niki Riga)

Despite this, the Kazakh player recovered excellently, and she was able to outplay the top seed to secure her second victory over her in this event.

Divya – Goryachkina looked drawish the whole way, but the Indian player made some mistakes when she got low on time in the endgame.

Goryachkina took full advantage, and she was thus able to score her first win of the event.

Lagno didn’t get much out of the opening, but she managed to outplay the out-of-form Tan in the endgame. She missed her one big opportunity, however, and Tan was able to secure a draw in the rook endgame.

Tan Zhongyi — the 2024 Women's Candidates winner — has had a rough go of it in Cyprus, but showed strong technique to hold a draw against Kateryna Lagno. (Photo courtesy FIDE/Niki Riga)

These results didn’t extend any leads, and if anything brought the field closer together. Assaubayeva and Goryachkina are back to even scores with their wins, which put them completely in contention, since the leader is only one point ahead. With no player establishing dominance and four rounds left to go, a majority of the field is still in contention for first, and there is no predicting what will happen.

The players get a well-deserved rest day today, and they will be back at it for Round 11 on Saturday, when play resumes at 8:45 a.m. EDT. Stay tuned!

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