FIDE Candidates 2026 Round 5 Wrap: Praggnanandhaa Held By Esipenko; Sindarov Moves Ahead; Deshmukh Draws Against Zhongyi

R Praggnanandhaa, the lone Indian in the fray, played out a draw with Andrey Esipenko, while Javokhir Sindarov maintained his winning momentum and defeated Hikaru Nakamura to retain a full-point lead after the fifth round of the Candidates Tournament here on Friday.

It turned out to be another dramatic day as Praggnanandhaa, who needed to win, opted for an unconventional opening not prescribed in the books. While the middlegame promised excitement, the Indian ace decided against taking any risks, and the game ended in a draw in just 31 moves via repetition.

Sindarov looks like a young man on a mission as he outclassed world No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura to race to 4.5 points from the first five rounds. Fabiano Caruana of the United States is the only one within striking distance after defeating Matthias Bluebaum to move to 3.5 points.

Praggnanandhaa, on 2.5 points, is next on the list and in need of a couple of wins, along with Anish Giri, who also settled for a draw with Wei Yi.

In the women’s event being held simultaneously, Divya Deshmukh played out a draw with Tan Zhongyi of China while R, Vaishali was struggling to save a difficult position against another Chinese Zhu Jiner.

Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine, meanwhile, remained as the co-leader following a draw with Aleksandra Goryachkina of Russia as overnight joint leader BIbisara Assaubayeva lost to Russian Kateryna Lagno, who joined the Ukrainian in the pole position.

FIDE Candidates 2026 Round 5 Results In Brief

Open: R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 2.5) drew with Andrey Esipenko (Rus, 1); Fabiano Caruana (USA, 3.5) beat Matthias Bluebaum (Ger, 2); Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 1.5) lost to Javokhir SIndarov (Uzb, 4.5); Anish Giri (Ned, 2.5) drew with Wei Yi (Chn, 2).

Women: Kateryna Lagno (Rus, 3) beat Bibisara Assuabayeva (Kaz, 2.5); Tan Zhongyi (Chn, 2) drew with Divya Deshmukh (Ind, 2); Zhu Jiner (Chn, 2) playing R Vaishali (Ind, 2); Aleksandra Goryachkina (Rus, 2.5) drew with Anna Muzychuk (Ukr, 3).