Vaishali, right, capitalised on an error by Goryachkina.
| Photo Credit: FIDE
R. Vaishali maintained her sole lead in the Women’s Candidates chess tournament by scoring a crucial win over Aleksandra Goryachkina in the 11th round at Pegeia, Cyprus, on Saturday. The victory took her tally to seven points, with just three rounds remaining.
Fellow-Indian Divya Deshmukh did Vaishali a favour by holding her strongest rival Zhu Jiner to a draw. The top seed from China now has six points and is sharing the second spot with Anna Muzychuk as the Chennai Grandmaster increased her lead to one point.
Published – April 12, 2026 12:20 am IST
