NEW DELHI: If R Praggnanandhaa’s opening-round victory over Dutch No. 1 Anish Giri at the Candidates was a manifesto of his aggressive DNA, Round 3 was a flashy reminder of the game’s flattering nature.On a day that began with high hopes for the Indian contingent at the Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort in Paphos, Cyprus, the script soon flipped into a disaster, only to be salvaged by a miraculous defensive stand and a mere bit of luck from Divya Deshmukh in the women’s section.
Praggnanandhaa, playing with the white pieces for the second time in three days, was expected to apply early pressure on 2025 FIDE World Cup winner Javokhir Sindarov. Instead, a surprising choice of opening and an uncharacteristic lack of bite left the Chennai-born Grandmaster suffering his first defeat of the tournament.A surprising choice in the openingThe surprise began at move one. Known for his lethal King’s Pawn (1. e4) attacks, Praggnanandhaa opted for the Queen’s Pawn (1. d4) opening, a move that also raised the eyebrows of veteran Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay.“Praggnanandhaa started brilliantly by winning the first round with the King’s Pawn opening. Today, playing White against Sindarov, he surprisingly chose the Queen’s Pawn, which does not really suit his style,” Thipsay told TimesofIndia.com in his post-game analysis.
“Praggnanandhaa is a very strong attacking player, and the King’s Pawn suits him better. He played the Queen’s Gambit, which leads to strategic play, but Sindarov played sharply and opened up the game with 6…c5. By the 12th move, Sindarov chose 12…Qf5, which is a novelty.”In the battle of 20-year-olds, the Uzbek youngster dictated terms while defending with black pieces astutely. Praggnanandhaa’s attempt to advance on the queenside met a brutal tactical response.“I think with 13.Bd3, Praggnanandhaa could have kept dangerous attacking possibilities by sacrificing a pawn (13…dxe3). The sacrifice could have proved very dangerous with 14.O-O…Nd4 ,” Thipsay explained.“Instead, he chose to go with 13.axb4, allowing his Uzbek opponent to sacrifice a knight (13…Nxb4,14.axb4…Bxb4+) to keep Praggnanandhaa’s king in the centre.”The sacrifice created a complex, unclear position where the initiative shifted to Sindarov. While a defensive specialist might have weathered the storm, Praggnanandhaa’s discomfort was evident.“Accurate defence is something Gukesh would have loved to play with White and probably would have defended,” Thipsay added. “But on move 19, Praggnanandhaa played 19.Qc3, which turned out to be a decisive mistake. It was a very one-sided game where Praggnanandhaa, despite the white pieces, was not able to give a single threat.”
By move 40, the Indian resigned, leaving Sindarov to join Fabiano Caruana at the top of the leaderboard with 2.5/3 points.Caruana himself enjoyed the shortest game of the tournament so far, capitalising on a catastrophic error by China’s Wei Yi, who resigned on move 19 after getting his bishop trapped.FIDE Candidates Round 3 Results – March 31, 2026Open Section
- Matthias Blübaum 0.5–0.5 Andrey Esipenko
- R Praggnanandhaa 0–1 Javokhir Sindarov
- Fabiano Caruana 1–0 Wei Yi
- Hikaru Nakamura 0.5–0.5 Anish Giri
Women’s Section
- Vaishali Rameshbabu 0.5–0.5 Anna Muzychuk
- Aleksandra Goryachkina 0.5–0.5 Divya Deshmukh
- Zhu Jiner 0–1 Bibisara Assaubayeva
- Tan Zhongyi 0–1 Kateryna Lagno
A miracle save from Divya DeshmukhAfter eight consecutive draws across the first two rounds, the Women’s section finally saw blood. Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva, the three-time Women’s Blitz Champion, stunned China’s Zhu Jiner with the black pieces. Simultaneously, Russia’s Kateryna Lagno defeated China’s Tan Zhongyi to join Bibisara at the top.Amid these upsets, Divya Deshmukh found herself staring into the abyss against Aleksandra Goryachkina, one of the favourites to win the tournament. For a majority of the game, Divya was on the ropes, battling Goryachkina’s deep opening preparation and hefty positional lead.“After two very dull days in the women’s section, the third day saw a lot of upsets,” Thipsay noted. “The top seeds went down. Vaishali played a safe game and drew against Anna Muzychuk. Goryachkina was in an extreme lead in the game between Alexandra Goryachkina and Divya Deshmukh, and the draw is as good as a miracle.”That miracle arrived under time pressure.Coming from the Russian school of chess, Goryachkina, usually a clinical finisher, committed a shocking blunder on move 64 with 64.Ra6.
Although Divya briefly returned the favour with 64…Kh7, Goryachkina’s subsequent error, 65.Kf7, evaporated the Russian Grandmaster’s advantage, with the longest game of the day ending in a draw after 81 moves.“Goryachkina made a decisive error moving the rook from a7 to a6, and the game headed toward a draw,” Thipsay explained. “Divya succeeded in averting defeat. She keeps her chances alive with all three games drawn.”As the dust settles on a chaotic third round, the leaderboard has started breaking into the leaders and the followers. In the Open section, the favourites, Caruana and Sindarov, have emerged early.For India, the focus turns to Round 4, where Praggnanandhaa must recalibrate against Matthias Blübaum, while Divya and Vaishali look to turn their stalemates into a full point.Round 4 Pairings – April 1, 2026Open Section:
- Esipenko vs Giri
- Wei Yi vs Nakamura
- Sindarov vs Caruana
- Blübaum vs Praggnanandhaa.
Women’s Section
- Muzychuk vs Lagno
- Assaubayeva vs Tan Zhongyi
- Divya vs Zhu Jiner
- Vaishali vs Goryachkina
