Sindarov Defeats Caruana for Lead; Giri Triumphs Over Esipenko
Javokhir Sindarov took sole command of the 2026 FIDE Candidates after round four. He beat Fabiano Caruana to sit at plus three.
Anish Giri won against Andrey Esipenko and returned to a 50 percent score. Several other games ended in draws.
Open event: key games
Sindarov vs Caruana
Sindarov defeated Caruana to establish a one-point lead. The young Uzbek now has three wins and one draw.
He is 20 years old and competing in his first Candidates. Sindarov also won the 2025 World Cup.
Giri vs Esipenko
Anish Giri outplayed Andrey Esipenko in a sharp Najdorf line. Preparation and a timely tactical sequence decided the game.
Esipenko missed critical defensive resources on move 18. Giri converted the edge and secured the full point.
Wei Yi vs Nakamura
Wei Yi and Hikaru Nakamura played the longest game of the round. It ended in a balanced draw after a complex rook ending.
Nakamura accepted an imbalanced Dragon-type position and created winning chances. He missed concrete winning continuations, and the game was drawn.
Bluebaum vs Praggnanandhaa
Matthias Bluebaum and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu agreed to a quiet draw. The game featured an isolated queen’s pawn for White.
The position offered no clear breakthrough for either player. The result was a peaceful half point each.
Women’s event: decisive rounds
Muzychuk vs Lagno
Anna Muzychuk beat Kateryna Lagno to join the tournament leaders. Muzychuk played a speculative piece sacrifice during the middlegame.
Lagno went wrong around move 28 and could not recover. Muzychuk avoided repetition to press for victory.
Zhu Jiner vs Divya Deshmukh
Zhu Jiner scored a win over Divya Deshmukh. She steered the opening into an offbeat reversed Rossolimo structure.
Divya missed chances to complicate with an exchange sacrifice. The position eventually became untenable for her.
Vaishali vs Goryachkina
Vaishali Rameshbabu held Aleksandra Goryachkina to a draw. Vaishali survived a dangerous middlegame after a pawn advance to a6.
Goryachkina produced 17…d4! to seize the initiative. A subsequent inaccuracy allowed Vaishali to neutralize the attack.
Assaubayeva vs Tan
Bibisara Assaubayeva drew with Tan Zhongyi in a tense fight. Assaubayeva reached a promising Tarrasch structure out of the opening.
Tan found precise calculation to level the game. The draw left Assaubayeva sharing the lead in the standings.
Standings, schedule and format
Sindarov leads the Open after round four. In the Women’s event, Anna Muzychuk caught Bibisara Assaubayeva at the top.
Thursday is the first rest day. Round five starts Friday, April 3, at 8:45 a.m. ET / 14:45 CEST / 6:15 p.m. IST.
The Candidates format features eight players in each section. Competitors play a double round-robin for the right to challenge the FIDE World Champions Gukesh Dommaraju and Ju Wenjun.
Filmogaz.com will continue daily coverage from the event. Sindarov Defeats Caruana for Lead; Giri Triumphs Over Esipenko were the standout results today.
