Every game in round two of the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament and Women's Candidates ended in a draw, leaving the standings unchanged. Dramatic escapes marked the women's section, with sacrifices saving Kateryna Lagno and Vaishali Rameshbabu from defeat. Leaders Fabiano Caruana, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, and Javokhir Sindarov hold their positions ahead of Tuesday's round three.
In the open section, Hikaru Nakamura drew with Andrey Esipenko in a prolonged rook endgame where he played a pawn down. Nakamura described the result as 'obviously good considering the opening,' telling FM Mike Klein that he felt much worse for about 30 moves despite computer evaluations suggesting otherwise. The American also noted the challenges of the time control without increment, referencing his round-one game against Caruana. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu equalized against Wei Yi after a brief advantage in a French Defense, while Javokhir Sindarov pressed Matthias Bluebaum in a Petroff Opening but could not convert. Anish Giri and Fabiano Caruana finished first with a quick draw, Caruana admitting he aimed to simplify from a slightly worse position. The women's event saw all four boards draw amid high drama. Kateryna Lagno escaped a two-pawn deficit against Zhu Jiner via a rook sacrifice during time trouble. Vaishali Rameshbabu sacrificed her queen on move 40 against Divya Deshmukh, who had missed the winning 37.Qg4!. Deshmukh remarked, 'I actually saw it before she played 37...Nxc5, I knew that this was coming. I just completely missed 37.Qg4! and I could just win easily there.' She added, 'I'm hoping that my luck comes back to me!' No decisive results yet separate the women's field, with Tan Zhongyi holding Anna Muzychuk and Bibisara Assaubayeva drawing Aleksandra Goryachkina solidly. Round three begins March 31 at 8:45 a.m. ET, featuring Praggnanandhaa against Sindarov.
