 "R Praggnanandhaa has started Candidates with a solid win against Anish Giri. Michal Walusza / Fide")
R Praggnanandhaa, Fabiano Caruana and Javokhir Sindarov emerged as the three winners on the opening day of FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 as the event started with a bang at the Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort in Cyprus.
The open section saw three stars clinch a point each to take early lead in the tournament while the women’s section witnessed draws in all four of its matches. It means that Praggnanandhaa is in joint lead while Indian women, Divya Deshmukh and R Vaishali, are level on terms with all other competitors in their category.
FIDE Candidates Day 1 Results
Caruana defeated world number two Hikaru Nakamura to start the tournament on a high. He took advantage in the latter stages of the game and ultimately Nakamura had to concede after a valiant defence.
Praggnanandhaa surprised Giri with a ‘Grand Prix Attack’ and the Dutch Grandmaster could not find a way out. Praggnanandhaa thus earned an outright win to take one point and boost his confidence for the upcoming stages.
Sindarov was the other winner with white as he put Esipenko under pressure and ultimately the Russian Grandmaster could not cope well. The match between Matthias Bluebaum and Wei Yi ended in a draw.
In the women’s section, all players split points. Aleksandra Goryachkina was the one who came closest to a win but missed the opportunity and had to settle for a draw.
FIDE Candidates: Standings after Round 1
1-3: Caruana, Praggnanandhaa, Sindarov – 1 point
4-5: Bluebaum, Wei Yi – 0.5 points
1-3: Esipenko, Giri, Nakamura – 0 points
FIDE Candidates: Round 2 pairings
Andrey Esipenko — Hikaru Nakamura
Anish Giri — Fabiano Caruana
Wei Yi — Praggnanandhaa R
Javokhir Sindarov — Matthias Bluebaum
FIDE Women’s Candidates: Standings after Round 1
1-8: Assaubayeva, Divya, Goryachkina, Lagno, Muzychuk, Tan Zhongyi, Vaishali, Zhu Jiner – 0.5 points
FIDE Women’s Candidates: Round 2 pairings
Anna Muzychuk — Tan Zhongyi
Kateryna Lagno — Zhu Jiner
Bibisara Assaubayeva — Aleksandra Goryachkina
Divya Deshmukh — Vaishali Rameshbabu