In the seventh round of the Women's Candidates chess tournament in Pegeia, Cyprus, R. Vaishali defeated China's Tan Zhongyi for her second straight win. In the open section, Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov drew with Netherlands' Anish Giri to hold his lead. Ukraine's Anna Muzychuk remains the sole leader in the women's event.
R. Vaishali capitalized on a terrible blunder by former world champion Tan Zhongyi in the Women's Candidates in Pegeia, Cyprus. Tan lost a piece, which Vaishali converted into a full point. This marks Vaishali's second straight victory, bringing her to 4 points after seven rounds.
Ukraine's Anna Muzychuk drew with Kazakhstan's Bibisara Assaubayeva to maintain her sole lead with 4.5 points, half a point ahead of Vaishali. India's Divya Deshmukh drew with Russia's Kateryna Lagno after a marathon 135 moves. Other women's games between Aleksandra Goryachkina and Zhu Jiner also ended in draws.
In the open Candidates, Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov, who had won his previous four games, drew with Netherlands' Anish Giri after 85 moves in the Queen's Gambit Declined. Sindarov holds 6 points, 1.5 ahead of America's Fabiano Caruana on 4.5. R. Praggnanandhaa drew with Caruana after 38 moves in the Slav Defense, employing an exciting knight sacrifice plan.
China's Wei Yi defeated Russia's Andrey Esipenko for his first win, while Germany's Matthias Bluebaum drew with USA's Hikaru Nakamura. Monday is a rest day, with seven rounds remaining.
