NEW DELHI: For the first time among women candidates in Cyprus, one has dominated, and, to no one’s surprise, it is India’s own Vaishali Ramesh Babu.Playing with the black pieces in round 11 on Saturday, she claimed victory over former world championship challenger Alexandra Goreichkina.A victory that felt less like a strategy and more like a statement of intent meant that 24-year-old Vaishali stood alone at the top of the leaderboard with 7/11 points at the end of the day.
How Vaishali Outwitted the Russians
Playing with the white pieces, Gurichkina took a cautious approach, using the reverse London system.It was a pick that lacked the bite usually associated with his game. Analyzing the game, grandmaster Praveen Thipse explained the inefficiency of the setup.“Gorichkina played a very passive reverse London system, which gives White no advantage. It was expected that she would try to play to advantage, but I think she wants to play it safe,” Thipse told TimesofIndia.com. “Vishali never had a problem with equality.”Vaishali seized the initiative after unleashing a sharp innovation on move 11 (11…Nc6), shifting the pressure back to the 27-year-old Russian.“The position is a bit better for Black at this stage,” Thipse observed. “It was a complete failure of Gorychkina to begin with.”Despite the opening lead, the game appeared to be headed for a draw after 13 moves of trading queens.However, in the tension of the end game, Gorychkina’s defensive accuracy finally failed. On move 25 (25.Rf5), he took his rook into a self-made cage.“The 25th move was a decisive mistake by Gorychkina, which took her to an awkward square in the middle. “The bird got stuck,” Thapse explained. From the move of 26, it looked like Goreichkina was in a really tough position and there was no way she was going to budge.The end came quickly.On move 30, under great pressure to free her trapped piece, Gorichkina blundered with 30. Bc4, immediately losing the exchange.“Then it became a very clear ideological win for Vaishali,” Thipse said. “Then a good conduct of the endgame; a superior endgame.”
On the same day, Vaishali’s compatriot Divya Deshmukh stopped Zhou Jinir on a draw. Zhou is joint second with Anna Muzyczak on 6/11 points, while Divya is second on 5/11.India’s title hopes ended in the open section as R Pragnananandha drew his match against Matthias Blübaum, ending his chances of lifting the trophy. However, his sister Vaishali is carrying the torch to history. With just three rounds remaining, she holds a full point lead over the field.As Thapse concluded: “Looks like our Vaishali is all set to win the Women’s Candidates Championship. A good win for Vaishali, who seems to be extending her lead now as she is the only player to have won (in this round).”If Vaishali maintains this clinical structure, a coronation in Cyprus feels less like a possibility and more like an inevitability. In the open section, Uzbek grandmaster Javakhir Sindarov came close to winning the coveted contenders’ title after a draw against Fabiano Caruana.
Poll
Who do you think is Vaishali’s biggest challenge in the remaining rounds?
FIDE candidate Round 11 Results – 11th April 2026Open the section.
- Anish Gray 0.5–0.5 Andre Espinko
- Hikaru Nakamura 0.5–0.5 Wei Yi
- Fabiano Caruana 0.5–0.5 Javakhir Sindarov
- R Pragnananandhaa 0.5–0.5 Matthias Blübaum
Women’s section
- Katrina Ligno 0.5–0.5 Anna Muzyczyk
- Tan zhongi 0.5–0.5 B. Besara asaobaifa
- Zo Gen. 0.5–0.5 Divya Deshmukh
- Alexandra Gurichkina 0–1 Vaishali Ramesh Babu
FIDE Candidate Round 12 Pairing – 12 April 2026Open the section.
- Andre Espinco vs. R. Praganananda
- Matthias Blubaum vs Fabiano Caruana
- Javakhir Sundaroff vs. Hikaru Nakamura
- V. Yee v. Anish Giri
Women’s section
- Anna Mozychak vs. Alexandra Gorichkina
- Vaishali Ramesh Babu vs. Zoe Jnr
- Divya Deshmukh Vs Tan Zongi.
- Bibisara Assaubayeva v. Kateryna Lagno
