Many thanks to @AdrianoNunesFX for writing this recap!
About the Candidates and What’s at Stake?
The Candidates tournament is an eight-player double round robin whose winner earns the right to challenge the reigning world champion in a world championship match. Historically, the Candidates was an elimination knockout tournament, but since 2013, it has been conducted as a double round robin with eight players.
Lichess Coverage
Lichess will produce in-depth blog posts with annotations for each round of the 2026 FIDE Candidates. GM Axel Bachmann (@ABachmann) will annotate R1–7 and GM Maksim Chigaev (@Fandorine96) R8–14 + potential tiebreaks from the Open Candidates, while WGM Petra Papp (@cukus) will annotate R1–4, IM / WGM Lilit Mkrtchian (@Lilit-Mkrtchian) R5–7, and IM / WGM Ekaterina Atalik (@EkaterinaAtalik) R8–14 + potential tiebreaks from the Women’s Candidates. Lichess will also create videos for each round of the tournament, with interviews and other types of content. Keep an eye on our socials for the videos!
Tournament Schedule
Pairings for Round 8
Open:
| White | Black |
|---|---|
| GM Andrey Esipenko | GM Javokhir Sindarov |
| GM Hikaru Nakamura | GM Fabiano Caruana |
| GM Anish Giri | GM R Praggnanandhaa |
| GM Wei Yi | GM Matthias Blübaum |
Women’s:
| White | Black |
|---|---|
| GM Anna Muzychuk | GM Divya Deshmukh |
| GM Bibisara Assaubayeva | GM Vaishali Rameshbabu |
| GM Kateryna Lagno | GM Aleksandra Goryachkina |
| GM Tan Zhongyi | GM Zhu Jiner |
Interviews
Make sure to check out all of our interviews from the Candidates on our YouTube channel! All our round 7 interviews are also embedded throughout this article.
Lichess Broadcast
The Lichess broadcast for the Candidates can be found here:
https://lichess.org/broadcast/fide-candidates-2026/oe4JqS3R
Open Leaderboard
Open Overview
The GM Javokhir Sindarov train has finally come to a halt, as GM Anish Giri sacrificed an exchange to reach a drawn endgame against the Uzbek prodigy. Meanwhile, GM Fabiano Caruana unleashed a rare idea in his sixth move and built up a big advantage on the clock, but GM R Praggnanandhaa managed to simplify and reach an equal endgame shortly after. GM Matthias Blübaum got a dangerous advantage on the clock, but GM Hikaru Nakamura managed to hold the draw in a sharp middlegame. The only decisive game of the round actually came from a Petroff Defense, as GM Andrey Esipenko played passively in the opening and GM Wei Yi punished his opponent with powerful sacrifices to wrap up the game. The leaderboard remained almost unchanged going into the second half of the tournament, with GM Javokhir Sindarov still leading by 1.5 points.
GM Javokhir Sindarov vs. GM Anish Giri 1/2-1/2
Watch our interview with GM Javokhir Sindarov here:
Watch our interview with GM Anish Giri here:
The most awaited game of the round became the deepest theoretical debate of the tournament so far, with both players following a game of GM Robert Ruck all the way to move 23, with GM Javokhir Sindarov’s 24. h3 being the novelty. GM Anish Giri stated that he “premoved” 17… exd5 and ended up in a “wrong version” of what he had intended, and that 17… Rxd5 would’ve been “much smoother” (to secure the draw). Once again Sindarov built up a serious advantage on the clock and had a slightly better position, but Giri was never in serious danger and managed to establish a fortress with an exchange sacrifice.
GM Axel Bachmann has annotated this game for you to learn from:
https://lichess.org/study/Y1yXP80U/5OpogZPb#0
GM R Praggnanandhaa vs. GM Fabiano Caruana 1/2-1/2
GM Fabiano Caruana’s performance could’ve easily been in the headlines if it wasn’t for Sindarov’s. The American grandmaster brought a surprise already on move six, with an early queen move in the Classical Slav, clearly indicating he was willing to fight. GM R Praggnanandhaa decided to play it safe and never ran into real trouble, with the game fizzling out soon after. With this draw, Javokhir Sindarov keeps his 1.5 point lead, which will pressure the closest contenders as the tournament progresses.
https://lichess.org/study/aVbIuZ7Q/JgG5oLO8#0
GM Andrey Esipenko vs. GM Wei Yi 0-1
Watch our interview with GM Wei Yi here:
Surprisingly, the only decisive result in the Open section came from the Petroff Defense, an opening that is famous for being a “drawing weapon”. Not for GM Wei Yi, though, as he employed that opening consistently during his amazing World Cup campaign. GM Andrey Esipenko was the first to pose a surprise with 4. Qe2, but also the first mistake with the passive 14. Bd2, after which GM Wei Yi took the initiative. Without his castling rights, Esipenko was unable to create threats in Black’s camp, and Wei Yi finished the game with elegant and powerful sacrifices.
GM Axel Bachmann has annotated this game for you to learn from:
https://lichess.org/study/Y1yXP80U/jRlb31dr#0
GM Matthias Blübaum vs. GM Hikaru Nakamura 1/2-1/2
Despite both players going for early pawn pushes on the wings, the game only left known territory after GM Matthias Blübaum’s 16. Kh1. Notably, the German grandmaster only started spending time on his clock by move 20, showcasing strong preparation. GM Hikaru Nakamura spent his time wisely and got himself out of trouble, especially in the dangerous queen and opposite-colored bishops middlegame. The game ended in a draw without further adventures on move 40.
https://lichess.org/study/aVbIuZ7Q/hD8wlplM#0
Women’s Leaderboard
Women’s Overview
The clash between GM Anna Muzychuk and GM Bibisara Assaubayeva was the calmest of the round, with the game ending by threefold repetition on move 26. GM Aleksandra Goryachkina put GM Zhu Jiner’s defensive skills to the test, but the latter managed to survive and the game ended in a draw on move 70. GM Divya Deshmukh fought hard to gain a pawn and reach an advantageous endgame, but GM Kateryna Lagno fought even harder to defend and managed to save half a point after reaching a drawn rook endgame. The swindle of the day happened on one of the other boards; after GM Tan Zhongyi outplayed GM Vaishali Rameshbabu in a Philidor Defense, she failed to find the winning sequence. The former Women’s World Champion still had a small advantage to play with, until she blundered a piece on move 37, allowing the two-time FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss winner to take the full point. The tournament goes into its second half with GM Anna Muzychuk leading by half a point over second place GM Vaishali Rameshbabu.
GM Anna Muzychuk vs. GM Bibisara Assaubayeva 1/2-1/2
What was expected to be a big fight ended up being the calmest game of the Women’s section. GM Bibisara Assaubayeva chose the less common 4… Nf6 line against the Rossolimo. GM Anna Muzychuk’s 8. Bf4 allowed the Kazakh grandmaster to undouble her pawns with 8… c4, and the game quickly lost its tension. The players decided to call it a day with a threefold repetition on move 26, as Muzychuk retained her lead and Assaubayeva stopped the bleeding after losing two games in a row.
IM / WGM Lilit Mkrtchian has annotated this game for you to learn from:
https://lichess.org/study/Y1yXP80U/95yx66NQ#0
GM Vaishali Rameshbabu vs. GM Tan Zhongyi 1-0
This game was a rollercoaster of emotions. GM Tan Zhongyi employed a rare guest at the elite level, the Philidor Defense, and GM Vaishali Rameshbabu chose the even rarer 3. Bd3 to throw her opponent off. It backfired, as the former Women’s World Champion kept increasing her advantage and was objectively winning before throwing most of her advantage away with 27. Ne4. Vaishali wasn’t out of the woods yet, as Tan Zhongyi was still up a pawn and faced no risk… until move 37, when the Chinese grandmaster blundered a full piece to a bishop fork tactic, which both players spotted immediately. This result is Vaishali’s second win in a row, leaving her only half a point behind the leader Anna Muzychuk going into the second half of the tournament.
IM / WGM Lilit Mkrtchian has annotated this game for you to learn from:
https://lichess.org/study/Y1yXP80U/1uXpzpsG#0
GM Aleksandra Goryachkina vs. GM Zhu Jiner 1/2-1/2
GM Aleksandra Goryachkina’s draw streak continued today, as GM Zhu Jiner demonstrated extraordinary defense skills. The game was objectively equal all along, but practically it was only White who could win. Despite Goryachkina’s queen and knight combo looking so threatening, Zhu Jiner kept her cool and made her way to a draw on move 70.
https://lichess.org/study/QqBr2Kpr/3MiVMTt4#0
GM Divya Deshmukh vs. GM Kateryna Lagno 1/2-1/2
GM Divya Deshmukh fought hard to gain a pawn, but GM Kateryna Lagno’s tenacious defense made it look like that pawn was never that clean. Later in the game, Divya’s symbolic advantage became more concrete after Lagno played 63… Rb2, but even then there was no easy way forward for the Indian grandmaster. On move 78, Divya chose to activate her king instead of her rook, a subtle difference that was only felt when the players signed “½” in the scoresheet. The players decided to play all the way to move 135 before agreeing to a draw, although the draw was clear long before that.
https://lichess.org/study/QqBr2Kpr/zbqqWVCX#0
Simulations
Lichess ran 1 million simulations of round results to determine the Candidates winner. Here are our results after round 7:
Open Candidates:
Women’s Candidates: