FIDE Candidates 2026 R12: Sindarov maintains his lead. Can Anish stop him in the penultimate round?

by Devansh Singh - 13/04/2026

After 12 rounds at the FIDE Candidates 2026, Javokhir Sindarov is still leading the field with 2 points; he is on 9/12, while Anish is still trailing with 7/12 points. In the 13th round, Anish and Sindarov are going to play against each other, and this round can be the decisive one. In the 12th round, all games ended in a draw in the Open Section, and the standings look the same. In the Women's section, there were 3 decisive results where Vaishali Rameshbabu, who was leading the event, lost against Zhu Jiner, and now both players are on 7/12 points. Divya Deshmukh suffered a tough loss against Tan Zhongyi, and Bibisara won against Kateryna Lagno. Today is the last rest day at Candidates, and Round 13 will start on 14th April at 15:45 Local Time/18:15 IST. Photos: Michal Walusza, Niki Riga/ FIDE

It's Now or Never!!

2 rounds to go and 2 points to cover, practically the chances of this happening are very low, but now Anish's fate is 50% in his hands. In the 13th round, he is going to play against Javokhir Sindarov with the white pieces, and if he wins, the lead will be just 1 point. Although in the last round, Anish is hoping that Wei Yi wins his game against Sindarov, and he can win against Bluebaum. This is the perfect scenario on paper for Anish, but in reality, it's next to impossible to lose 2 games in a row for Sindarov, who is unbeaten throughout the event.

Anish missed some chances against Wei Yi

Open Section

In the 12th round of the Open Section, all 4 games ended in a draw. Javokhir Sindarov and Hikaru Nakamura played a very quick draw and one of the fastest of the Candidates 2026. Andrey Esipenko vs. R. Praggnanandhaa also ended in a draw after witnessing some tricky opening lines. Matthias Bluebaum and Fabiano Caruana also played a solid draw. The most interesting and Important game of the round happened between Anish Giri and Wei Yi, where Anish was clearly winning in so many situations but failed to convert the advantage, and the game ended in a draw.

When you can sense something is there in the position

Wei Yi vs Anish Giri (0.5-0.5)

Anish got an early opening advantage playing against Vienna with the black pieces. It was an interesting opening choice and Anish utilised it completely. Anish got the exchange, and the position was very imbalanced. Check out the positions below.

Wei Yi played 31.c6, which is a big blunder as it allows Qa7+, followed by Qe3 and a completely winning position. Anish found the idea and played Qa7+, but after thinking for 12 minutes and 33 seconds, he played move 32.Qc5, which equalises the position. In the post-match analysis with Wei Yi over the board, Wei Yi told him about the same line.

Even after missing the chance at move no 31, Anish got multiple opportunities

Here, Anish had another chance to play h5, forcing white to play Qd8, but he decided to bring out white's king on h4, again not the best decision.

Arbiter!!!, Finally, after a long, long battle, and resistance shown by Wei Yi's resistance paid off as he claimed the Three-Fold Repetition.

Arbiters checked the position, and indeed it was a three-fold repetition, and the game ended in a draw

Wei Yi vs Anish Giri (0.5-0.5)

After a long struggle and missing, Anish Giri made a draw against Wei Yi in Round 12 of the FIDE Candidates 2026. Watch the critical moments of this game, and a detailed interview with Anish Giri afterwards.

Javokhir Sindarov vs Hikaru Nakamura (0.5-0.5)

One of the quickest draws of the tournament in terms of time consumed. Although it was a quick draw, you can see the emotions and how happy Sindarov looks after and before the game!!

Before the start of the round

Nakamura is as expressive as always

Poker Face?? Nope

And here comes the handshake

Just look at the guy!!

It was a fun post-match press conference

In the 12th round of the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026, Javokhir Sindarov was playing with the White pieces against Hikaru Nakamura. The game ended in just 40 moves - it was a quick draw! Watch our post-game interview with Sindarov and the complete press conference.

Andrey Esipenko vs R Praggnanandhaa (0.5-0.5)

In the 12th round of the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026, Praggnanandhaa was up against Andrey Esipenko with the Black pieces. Pragg's novel ideas in the opening shocked one and all; it was like Pragg was playing Freestyle Chess and not classical. Eventually, the game ended in a draw, but it shows the creativity of Pragg and his deep preparation.

Andrey Esipenko vs R Praggnanandhaa (0.5-0.5)

Check out the full game | Video: ChessBase India

Matthias Bluebaum vs Fabiano Caruana (0.5-0.5)

Round 12 Results | Graphic: FIDE

Standings after round 12 | Graphic: FIDE

Round 13 Pairings:

Replay games of the Open section

Women's Section

In the Women's Section, there were 3 decisive results in the 12th round. The most important game was between Vaishali Rameshbabu vs Zhu Jiner because Vaishali was leading the field with a clear point lead, and Zhu Jiner managed to beat Vaishali to catch her, and now both players are in a joint lead. Bibisara Assaubayeva beats Kateryna Lagno to get into joint second place with Anna Muzychuk, who drew her completely winning game against Aleksandra Goryachkina. Divya suffered a tough loss against Tan Zhongyi.

Zhu Jiner is in joint lead after 12 rounds

Vaishali Rameshbabu vs Zhu Jiner

Zhu Jiner played an excellent game with the black pieces. Taking advantage of Vaishali's time pressure, she secured a vital win. Jiner kept her king in the center of the board and attacked Vaishali's king's side.

Vaishali made a huge blunder and played 36.Nc1, which allows 36.h3! and Jiner won in the next 3 moves Nxb3 hxg2+, 38.Kh2 g1=Q+, 39.Nxg1 Nc3

Mr. Manish (High Commissioner of India in Cyprus) made the inaugural move on the board

Divya Deshmukh vs Tan Zhongyi (0-1)

Tan Zhongyi displayed technical mastery in an aggressive game. After a series of exchanges that left Divya with a bad bishop, Tan converted the advantage into a win.

Divya Deshmukh vs Tan Zhongyi (0-1)

Bibisara Assaubayeva vs Kateryna Lagno (1-0)

In a chaotic game with multiple swings, Bibisara managed to capitalize on a mistake by Lagno during the endgame. By winning a piece and promoting a pawn, Bibisara secured the full point, moving to 6.5 points.

Bibisara Assaubayeva vs Kateryna Lagno (1-0)

Anna Muzychuk vs Aleksandra Goryachkina (0.5-0.5)

Anna was in a winning position and could have joined the leaders at seven points. However, she missed a study-like winning sequence involving a precise king move and ended up with a draw.

White to play and win

Under time pressure, Anna blundered at this position and played 65.Ra2+, allowing black to play Kh3, and the game ended in a draw.

Anna Muzychuk vs Aleksandra Goryachkina (0.5-0.5)

Round 12 Results | Graphic: FIDE

Standings after round 12 | Graphic: FIDE

Player of the day | Graphic: FIDE

Round 13 Pairing

Replay games of the Women's section

Photo Gallery: ChessBase India, FIDE

Harshit Raja and Sagar Shah are covering all the action from Cyprus

Fans waiting in the queue to take photos with Sindarov

Lets go Hikaruuu

Look who is here

Once in a lifetime opportunity

Two sides of a game

The one who takes interviews: ChessNerd

Sindarov came back after finishing his round quickly

Session by Sagar and Amruta

'I will take a rest and play Counter Strike.'

What just happened??

Oopsies

Agony for Caruana

The Anish Walk before the round

Bibisara with her young fan

Videos:

It was yet another exciting day in Round 12 of the FIDE Candidates 2026! Will Sindarov create history in the next round ?. Watch all that happened in this recap video by Amruta Mokal!

In the 12th round of the FIDE Women's Candidates 2026, Bibisara Assaubayeva won a wild game against Kateryna Lagno. Check out the final moments of the game, Bibisara's celebrations with her mom, Sindarov, and Madaminov, and the complete press conference!

In the 12th round of the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026, the tournament leader Javokhir Sindarov was up against Hikaru Nakamura. Both players started smiling as the game started - why is that? Watch this very interesting battle in full with IM Sagar Shah's commentary.

Live Stream

Watch Live Stream by IM Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal from Cyprus | Video: ChesBase India

Pairings: Round 13

Graphic: FIDE

Venue: Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort, Cyprus

Official FIDE partner for Candidates 2026 | Photo: FIDE Chess

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

Enjoy an amazing venue tour of the FIDE Candidates 2026 in Cyprus, happening at the Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort in Paphos. Sagar and Amruta give an extensive tour. Enjoy!

Schedule and Format

Each tournament features eight of the world’s strongest players competing in a double round-robin format over fourteen rounds of classical chess. All the games will start at 15:30 Local Time/18:15 IST

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.