Vaishali's Costly Loss Shakes Up Women's Candidates Chess Title Race

Vaishali's loss proved particularly costly, as she slipped from sole leadership into a joint top position in the Women's Candidates alongside Zhu Jiner, with both now on seven points. The result has set up a gripping finish to the tournament, as per ESPN.

Vaishali lost to China's Zhu with white pieces after a blunder in what was a tricky and crucial game, especially since it would have a bearing on who the women's champion would be. That Vaishali lost to a player who drew level with her on points can prove to be a big blow with only two more rounds to go in the tournament.

Meanwhile, Anna Muzychuk held a draw while Bibisara Assaubayeva secured a win, leaving both just half a point behind leaders R Vaishali and Zhu Jiner.

Divya Deshmukh, who was previously joint second-last, suffered a defeat against bottom-placed Tan Zhongyi despite having the white pieces, resulting in both players now sharing last place with five points and being out of contention.

After a rest day, the penultimate round will see Vaishali face Tan, while Divya takes on Kateryna Lagno. With the title race finely poised, Vaishali will need to maintain composure and push for outright wins in her final two games to stay in contention in what has become a tightly contested Women's Candidates tournament.

In the Open section, R Praggnanandhaa played out a draw against bottom-placed Andrey Esipenko with the black pieces in another complex encounter. Despite both players achieving near-perfect accuracy of around 99%, the result leaves Praggnanandhaa second from bottom with 5 points.

While his result may not have much impact on the overall standings, with runaway leader Javokhir Sindarov firmly in control at the top and the title race all but decided, it does extend his winless run in the Candidates tournament.

- ANI