2026 FIDE Candidates Round 12
Giri's chances to overtake Sindarov thin to a razor's edge; Zhu catches up with Vaishali
Giri - Wei
This was a bummer for Giri. He had a slight edge in the opening and middlegame, at at some point was completely winning in the endgame, but, low on time, could not find the winning continuation. Credit to Wei for defending so well in a worse position (one standout feature of his games this tournament).
Muzychuk - Goryachkina
Rook endgames are cruel — even when you’re the only one with the rook.
Here Black is completely lost. White can win both of the pawns, because her rook is positioned to attack the pawns from behind or check the king from the side. After Kg4, Black can resign. However, Muzychuk chose 65.Ra2??, and Goryachkina’s 65…Kh3! underscored the importance of keeping that square under control.
Now, White can’t ever get the king separated from the pawns in a way that she can capture both; Black has time and sufficient cover by pawns to keep the game drawn. White also can’t keep the rook on the second rank because of stalemate. The game continued 66.Ra3 Kh2 67.Kg4 g2 68.Rh3+ Kg1 69.Kxh4 Kf2 70.Rh2 Kf3
White has only one move that stops this pawn from promoting. 71.Rxg2 Kxg2 1/2-1/2
Vaishali - Zhu
I think this game’s story is about Black’s d-pawn.
We’ve got a more-or-less typical Caro-Kann where White chose to recapture a bishop on d3 with a pawn rather than queen. On move 12, Black has played Qc8, seeking play on the queenside (perhaps Qa6 threatening Qxd3; or otherwise supporting the c-pawn). Vaishali chose to change the structure with 13.dxc5!?; after 13…bxc5 14.Qa4 Qb7 15.O-O O-O:
I think the position looks comfortable for Black, because of the queenside pawn presence, the semi-open b-file, and a more solid position. However, White has some annoying plans on the kingside because of the expanded pawn on h5; and in general, her attack would come first if black ever castled, because her pieces are closer to the black kingside. Accordingly, Zhu forewent castling this game, and a few moves later it was black to move here:
White has some development issues, but this isn’t exclusive; Black’s king in the center, while safe, also stands in the way of the b8-rook, which would certainly like to find a place on the g-file and barrel its cannons towards the enemy white king. But Zhu has some initiative on the queenside and decides to go for it
22…c4!?
This move makes some sense, because in some cases it can lead to a passed pawn for Black; however, it requires White’s compliance. White could play Qh2, giving a threat to the h6 pawn which is short a defender; Nh4 also makes some sense, to induce a trade of Black’s good bishop or move the rook away from the defense of the h-pawn.
Vaishali took with 23.bxc4. After 23…dxc4 Black now has a significant queenside initiative, and this pawn is well-placed to cause problems, as it dominates the c1-knight and requires blockaders to stop its impending advance. White isn’t lost, but Blake has the more comfortable game for sure.
Later down the road, we see this old d-turned-c-pawn make its way to the b-file too:
Black has made progress on both sides of the board; the situation in terms of center is mostly closed up, and White has tried to cause a problem on the kingside where Black’s King was a little exposed; but now she’s forcing the issue on the queenside with this kick against the rook. Zhu replied:
34…Rb3 35.Rxb3 cxb3
This pawn is becoming more dangerous by the second. Vaishali attacks it directly:
36.Nc1??
However, there’s a tactical problem with this move:
36..h3!
Now White’s kingside is under serious attack.
37.Nxb3
The d-to-c-to-b-pawn has served its purpose and is sacrificed for the greater good. It’s fascinating how Zhu’s pressure on the queenside leads to victory on the kingside.
If White now tries to take this pawn, Black moves in for the kill with 37.Qxh3? Nf4!, and the g2-pawn is falling. Next, Black can maneuver the queen via the newly vacated e4-square, and due to White’s loosely positioned pieces, devastating material losses and/or checkmate will eventually come.
37…hxg2+ 38.Kh2 g1=Q+ 39.Nxg1 Nc3 0-1
Black wins. Qg2# is threatened, and so is Nxb1. Vaishali resigned, and this brings Zhu back into shared first-place with her with 7 points.
Divya - Tan
After an interesting opening phase, the middlegame entered a protracted maneuvering phase in a closed position where White had a weak e-pawn that would eventually tell. Tan’s handling of this phase of the game was elegant and her attack would eventually crash through.
Assaubayeva - Lagno
Bibisara escaped from a dangerous situation against Kateryna, and was able to turn around a lost game into a win in a very sharp way.
Already here, White had lost her advantage, and Black was within range of a draw, but it required the calculation of the move 40…g6, which is a difficult move to make when an enemy queen is ready to take control of the two ranks your king is going to be at and you’ve only got a couple minutes on the dial. Kateryna chose 40…Kg8 instead, and eventually faced heavy material loss and an impending mate.
