FIDE Candidates 2026 R8: Anish beats Praggnanandhaa, Caruana loses to Nakamura
The FIDE Candidates 2026 is now in its second half, after completion of 8 rounds, Sindarov is still leading the event and getting closer to a perfect finish. In the 8th round, Anish Giri secured an important win over R Praggnanandhaa to get into the joint lead with Caruana in second place, who lost his game against Nakamura. Javokhir Sindarov drew his game against Andrey Esipenko, but Nakamura's win over Caruana helped Sindarov to increase his lead by 2 points. The 8th round in the Women's Section was very eventful as it witnessed 3 decisive results, and the standings have completely changed. It is anyone's title to grab as 5 players are in a joint lead. Round 9 will start on 8th April at 15:45 Local Time/18:15 IST. Photos: Michal Walusza, Yoav Nis/ FIDE
A Little Story through the photos
David Luiz, player of Pafos FC and former player for the Brazil national team, Arsenal, Chelsea, and PSG, UEFA Champions League winner, was the Chief Guest for Round 8, and David Luiz made the Ceremonial move. Check out some wholesome moments before the start of round 8 through these pictures.
Open Section
After the rest day on 6th April, it was an eventful day at FIDE Candidates 2026. In the Open section, there were two Decisive results; Anish Giri won a nice game using his passed pawn to beat R Praggnanandhaa and get into second place with Fabiano Caruana. Hikaru Nakamura scored a big win over Caruana to reach 3.5/8 points. Tournament leader Javokhir Sindarov is now on a 2-point lead over the field after drawing his game against Andrey Esipenko. The game between Matthias Bluebaum and Wei Yi also ended in a draw.
Anish Giri vs R Praggnanandhaa (1-0)
This was the 11th time Anish and Praggnanandhaa played against each other in Classical time format. Earlier, both players had 6 draws, 2-times Anish managed to win, and Praggnanadhaa won 2 games. In the last encounter before this tournament at Tata Steel 2026, they drew a game. Here in the first round, Praggnanandhaa played a nice game to beat Anish in the rook endgame. This time in the 11th Classical game, Anish played a beautiful game to win against Pragg.
Anish created a small edge out of the opening and kept increasing his advantage. He managed to create his own passed pawn while stopping Pragg's passed pawn with the knight. The knight that was placed on d4 ( d4 is a dark square, Pragg had a light-squared bishop) on the 21st move sat there till the end of the game, 44th move. The Dutch no.1 finished things off beautifully with a Rook sacrifice.
Praggnanandhaa had less than 10 minutes on his clock at this position, and after thinking for 2 minutes, he played 35.Qf7. It turned out to be a huge mistake as it allowed 36.e6 with tempo. After pushing his pawn to e6, it was a smooth win for Anish in less than 10 moves.
White to play and win
Hikaru Nakamura vs Fabiano Caruana (1-0)
When Nakamura and Caruana played in the first round of the FIDE Candidates 2026, it was a marathon battle in which Fabi managed to win the game in a Bishop endgame. Hikaru had some chances in the end but failed to capture. Coming to the 8th round and the second clash between the two players, it was Hikaru who managed to win in an equal-looking rook endgame.
Hikaru played 28.h3 to solve his back rank weakness, and the position was looking quite even, but it was not that easy to play as black here. The rook on a7 is controlling the 7th rank, and the other rook is going to join the party from d1. Caruana thought for 2:02 minutes and played 28.h5, but this move allowed white to enter with 29.Rd1 and eventually capture the pawns.
Andrey Esipenko vs Javokhir Sindarov (0.5-0.5)
It was a second clash between Sindarov and Esipenko at Candidates 2026. In the first round, Sindarov managed to win his game against Esipenko to start the event with a victory. In the 8th round, it was a quick and solid draw from the black pieces by Sindarov. He is still leading the event and getting closer and closer to the World Championship spot.
Round 9 Pairings:
Replay games of the Open section
Women's Section
The 8th round at the FIDE Women's Candidates changed a lot of things. Before this round, Anna Muzychuk was in the sole lead going into the rest day, while Vaishali was in second place. The 8th round was an eventful one as there were 3 decisive results. Divya won her game against Anna Muzychuk, Kateryna Lagno beat Aleksandra Goryachkina, and in the Chinese clash, Zhu Jiner won her game with black pieces against Tan Zhongyi. Vaishali drew her game against Bibisara Assaubayeva.
Anna Muzychuk vs Divya Deshmukh (0-1)
In a dramatic turnaround, Divya Deshmukh defeated the tournament leader, Anna Muzychuk. Muzychuk was in a dominating position but lost her advantage after several inaccurate moves. In the endgame, Muzychuk panicked under pressure, allowing Divya to snatch a free pawn and convert the win. After the rest day, the luck is on the side of Divya as in the 7th round she drew a winning game against Lagno, while here in the 8th round she came back from a terrible position and managed to win the game.
After a lot of struggle, Divya managed to get this positon and it was clearly heading towards a draw, but Anna was not ready to accept that she messed up a completely winning position into a draw, and in desperation, she played 59.a7, and Divya simply captured it back with the queen and won this endgame with one extra pawn.
Tan Zhongyi vs Zhu Jiner (0-1)
Zhu Jiner captured an extra pawn in the middlegame, giving up her bishop pair. After a long struggle where she was a pawn up, a few inaccurate moves by Zhongyi allowed a knight fork that led to a decisive material loss.
Kateryna Lagno vs Aleksandra Goryachkina (1-0)
Kateryna Lagno beat Aleksandra Goryachkina after the latter played the pawn 15...f5 that compromised her position. Lagno exploited the resulting weaknesses to claim the full point. This win helped Lagno to get into the joint lead.
Round 9 Pairing
Replay games of the Women's section
Photo Gallery: ChessBase India, FIDE
Videos:
Live Stream
Pairings: Round 9
Venue: Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort, Cyprus
The multi-award-winning Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort has been selected by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) as the ideal destination to host the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026, an event of historic and international significance. This selection represents the highest recognition both for Cyprus and for Cap St Georges Hotel& Resort, affirming the prestige, reliability, and organizational excellence required to host a world-class chess tournament. Surrounded by landscaped gardens with centuries-old olive trees, the resort reflects the island’s character through refined architecture and well-designed spaces, with a strong focus on privacy, comfort, and attentive service.
Both tournaments are held side by side at the Cap St Georges Hotel and Resort in Cyprus, a five-star coastal venue near Paphos. The resort offers a calm and professional setting for elite competition, with the playing hall, accommodation, and preparation areas located within the same complex, allowing players to focus fully on the event. Photo Gallery of Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort
Schedule and Format
Key details and Information
Two tournaments will be held side by side – the (Open) FIDE Candidates Tournament and the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament.
Format: In both the Open and the Women’s, the eight qualified players will compete in a double round-robin tournament, consisting of 14 rounds.
Time control: The games will be played with a time control of 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 41.
Prize fund: The minimum prize fund for the event stands at a record €1,000,000.
Tie-breaks: In the event of a tie for first place after 14 rounds, a playoff will be held to determine the winner who qualifies for the World Championship Match, which will take place in November 2026.
Important Links
Candidates 2026 Official Website
Regulations for the FIDE Candidates Tournament
Related News
How did Cyprus and Cap St. Georges become the venue for FIDE Candidates 2026?
FIDE Candidates 2026 R2: Divya misses a chance against Vaishali, all games end in a draw
फ़ीडे कैंडिडेट R2 : दिव्या, जिनर जीत से चूकी, प्रज्ञानन्दा नें वे यी से बांटा अंक
FIDE Candidates 2026 R1: Praggnanandhaa starts with a win over Anish Giri
फ़ीडे कैंडिडेट में जीत के साथ प्रज्ञानन्दा का धमाकेदार प्रारंभ
The Battle to Reach the World Championship Begins Today: Candidates 2026 Officially Inaugurated
विश्व चैंपियनशिप पहुँचने की जंग शुरू , कैंडिडेट का हुआ आगाज
फीडे कैंडिडेट्स 2026: कौन जीतेगा कैंडिडेट्स और देगा विश्व चैंपियन को टक्कर?
FIDE Candidates 2026: Pairings are out, who are you rooting for?
Changes to qualification paths for the Candidates Tournament