NEW DELHI: After a relatively calm rest day on Monday, where some players were out on court playing paddles, the storm returned to the boards with a hint of vengeance at the Cape St. George Hotel and Resort in Cyprus. Tuesday’s Round 8 of FIDE Candidates 2026 proved that in a marathon of 14 rounds, rest often serves as a catalyst for chaos rather than rest.While the Indian camp celebrated Divya Deshmukh’s resounding win that catapulted her to the top of the women’s leaderboard, the open section witnessed the near-collapse of the country’s top hope, R Praganandha.In the open section, Hikaru Nakamura finally found his stride, defeating compatriot Fabiano Caruana with a ruthless performance. With that, Anish Giri got clinical revenge for his Round 1 defeat by crushing Praganananda.
However, the most jaw-dropping drama of the day came in the women’s section, where the match-up between Divya Deshmukh and the tournament leader, Anna Mozychak, set the leaderboard on fire.Muzychuk, who was not even supposed to be in Cyprus, had played the role of an impregnable shield until Tuesday, a last-minute replacement for Indian veteran Konero Hampi. But a series of inexplicable mistakes against Divya slipped her crown.With wins from Divya, Zhu Jiner, and Kateryna Lagno, the women’s section has turned into a five-way pileup at the top, with Divya and Vaishali Rameshbabu among the co-leaders with 4.5/8 points.Huge win for DivyaWhile Divya Deshmukh’s climb to the top looks impressive on the standings, veteran grandmaster Praveen Thipse believes the win was more due to Mozychak’s sudden lack of oxygen than Indian tactical prowess.“Anna played quite well. From the movement of 40, it looked like Divya was in deep trouble,” Thipse told TimesofIndia.com in his post-game analysis. “A loss (to Divya) would have been a normal outcome under normal circumstances.” The game turned on a dime when the Ukrainian veteran appeared to suffer a psychological blackout.“However, Mozyczak completely lost his way when he decided to give up his strongest point in his position, the pawn on h6. By playing 43.Qh5, I think Muzychuk could have kept a huge advantage if he won. But with the retreat of Qe2 on the 43rd move, it became a dangerous position after Divya eliminated a strong enemy pawn (with 43…Qxh6).”Thipse was particularly surprised by the lack of technical discipline at this level.“When Muzyczak gave him a strong h6 pawn, I think his chances of winning became zero. But the decisive mistake came on 59 when he pushed the other pawn, the a6 pawn, to a7, and at that stage, without realizing that the only strong point of his position was a6. And by giving up this pawn (with 59…Qxa7), Muzychuk finds himself in a losing position. It was surprising that he first gave up his h6-pawn, and then A6, the passed pawn, which was Black’s only threat.“In the queen and pawn endgame, Divya has the slight advantage of an extra pawn. And maintaining a superb structure, he forced Mozyczuk to retire with his 83rd move, handing him his first defeat of the tournament.Praganandha’s hopes are going up in smoke.If Divya’s performance brought smiles to Indian faces, R Praganandha’s performance was a master class in self-destruction.The Chennai grandmaster, who opened the tournament by defeating Anish Giri, was on the receiving end of a brutal lesson on his return. “Although Praganananda almost equalized with move 34, I think the wrong moves starting with 35.Qf7 and then 38.h5 proved to be the decisive mistake,” Thapse explained.“The whole sequence of moving the queen to the king and then advancing the king-side pawn, weakening the king, turned out to be disastrous. So with this loss, it’s probably impossible for Praganananda to emerge as a challenger for the world championship title.”Light warm Vaishali and the road aheadMeanwhile, R Vaishali’s day lacked punch. Despite having an extra pawn against Bibisara Assaubayeva, she was unable to convert the advantage. Thapse noted, “Vishali seemed to have some advantage against B. Besara Asaobaifa. An extra pawn advantage was not good enough to win, as the position was a theoretical draw. Vaishali tried her best, but her opponent played reasonably well, and nothing was achieved.”As the tournament moves into Round 9, the spotlight shifts to an all-India civil war in the women’s section. It will be Vaishali Ramesh Babu vs Divya Deshmukh. Both are co-leaders, but only one can afford to sustain this momentum.In the open section, Praganandha must now play for pride, as his path to the crown is effectively barred.FIDE Candidates Round 8 Results – 7th April 2026Open the section.Andrey Espenko 0.5–0.5 Javakhir SindarovWei Yi 0.5–0.5 Matthias BlübaumAnish Giri 1–0 R PragananandaHikaru Nakamura 1-0 Fabiano CaruanaWomen’s sectionAnna Mozechuk 0–1 Divya DeshmukhBibisara Assaubayeva 0.5–0.5 Vaishali Ramesh BabuKaterina Ligno 1–0 Alexandra GorychkinaTan Zhongyi 0–1 Zhou JnrFIDE Candidate Round 9 Pairing – 8 April 2026Open the section.Hikaru Nakamura vs. Andre EspancoFabiano Caruana vs Anish GiriR. Praganananda v. V. YeeMatthias Blubaum vs. Javkhair SundaroffWomen’s sectionTan Zhongyi vs. Anna MozychickZoe Jenner vs. Katrina LignoAlexandra Gurichkina vs. B. Bessara IsaubyevaVaishali Ramesh Babu Vs Divya Deshmukh
