Five rounds into the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament in Pegeia, Cyprus, and one player has already sent a message to the entire chess world. Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan has won four of his first five games, beating three of the top players in the world back to back. The Women’s section tells a completely different story. Three players are tied at the top with everything still to play for.
If you want the full tournament guide with venue details, player profiles, and prize fund breakdown, you can read our complete overview here: 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament: Everything You Need to Know
This article covers only the round results, key moments, and current standings.
Open Section: Round by Round Results
Round 1 - March 29, 2026
Three decisive results on day one was not what most people expected. Fabiano Caruana beat Hikaru Nakamura in a six-hour grind. He accepted weak pawns but kept his pieces active, and slowly outplayed the American to win a pawn and then the game.
Praggnanandhaa used the Grand Prix Attack against Anish Giri’s Sicilian and kept pressing until Giri, under time pressure, made a critical mistake in the endgame. Sindarov started his remarkable run by defeating Esipenko with sharp tactics. Computers briefly showed Esipenko was better out of the opening, but Sindarov created complications and came out on top.
Round 2 - March 30, 2026
All four games were drawn in Round 2. The players pulled back after the chaos of Round 1 and played it safe. The sharpest moment came in the Esipenko vs Nakamura game. Nakamura was a pawn down in a rook endgame but defended perfectly to hold the draw.
Anish Giri had slight pressure against Caruana but the American played with near-perfect accuracy. Post-game analysis showed Caruana made no significant mistakes at all.
Round 3 - March 31, 2026
Caruana produced the moment of the round. He beat Wei Yi in just 19 moves. Wei Yi made an error on move 17 and his bishop got completely trapped with no escape. He resigned immediately.
The other decisive game was Sindarov’s win over Praggnanandhaa. Playing with the black pieces, Sindarov sacrificed a knight as early as move 13. It was a high-risk piece sacrifice that created a massive attack. Praggnanandhaa fought back and was holding reasonably well until move 33, when time pressure forced an error and Sindarov built a mating net that ended the game two moves later.
Round 4 - April 1, 2026
This was the biggest game of the tournament so far. Sindarov, playing white, came loaded with home preparation against Caruana’s Queen’s Gambit Accepted. His team had prepared the moves 13.dxc5 and 14.c6, which caught Caruana completely off guard. By move 20, Caruana had only 10 minutes left on his clock with no increment until move 40. He made critical errors on moves 17 and 18 and Sindarov’s attack became unstoppable.
Anish Giri bounced back with a clean win over Esipenko. Esipenko tried an aggressive pawn sacrifice on move 16 but miscalculated two moves later, and Giri converted with the black pieces.
Praggnanandhaa could not press any advantage against the solid Bluebaum. The game ended in a quiet draw after limited fighting.
Round 5 - April 3, 2026
Nakamura said publicly before this game that it was a must-win for him. He played an aggressive gambit line in the Queen’s Gambit Declined, sacrificing two pawns early to create complications. Sindarov had prepared this exact variation during the rest day. When Nakamura spent 67 minutes thinking on move 13 and still chose the wrong continuation, the game was effectively over. Sindarov, despite being two pawns down, showed his piece activity was completely overwhelming. The win took Sindarov to 4.5 out of 5.
Caruana finished off Bluebaum with a clean attacking game that ended in a checkmate. Praggnanandhaa, with white pieces against a struggling Esipenko, played too passively and the game fizzled into a draw after 31 moves with threefold repetition. It was a missed chance.
Open Section Standings After Round 5
Sindarov leads by a full point. Nine rounds remain. This is not over, but no one has ever started a modern double-round Candidates faster than this.
Women's Section: Round by Round Results
Round 1 - March 29, 2026
All four games were drawn but none were quiet. Goryachkina missed a move on move 24 that would have given her a winning position against Lagno. Zhu Jiner launched an aggressive pawn sacrifice against Tan Zhongyi but could not finish the attack. R. Vaishali had her hands full against Assaubayeva’s time pressure tactics but defended well to split the point.
Round 2 - March 30, 2026
The most dramatic moment of the round came in the all-India clash. Divya Deshmukh had a completely winning position but played the wrong queen move on move 37. Vaishali found an incredible queen sacrifice that instantly turned the tables and drew the rook endgame. Lagno also survived a two-pawn deficit against Zhu Jiner when Zhu, under time pressure, missed a rook sacrifice that would have ended the game.
Round 3 - March 31, 2026
The deadlock finally broke. Bibisara Assaubayeva beat top seed Zhu Jiner using sharp tactics on moves 25 and 31, winning two pawns and converting efficiently. Kateryna Lagno’s tournament of wild swings continued. Tan Zhongyi was completely winning before a miscalculation let Lagno execute a knight and queen sacrifice to end the game. Divya held a difficult 81-move defense against Goryachkina to earn a draw.
Round 4 - April 1, 2026
The headline game was Muzychuk vs Lagno. The two players did not shake hands before or after the game due to the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. On the board, Anna Muzychuk was in full control. She sacrificed a piece for two pawns and built an unstoppable attack. Lagno resigned after Muzychuk played 29.Qxd4, launching a mating net that could not be stopped.
Zhu Jiner recovered from her Round 3 loss by beating Divya Deshmukh. Divya misplayed the opening and Zhu converted the resulting positional advantage smoothly. Assaubayeva missed chances to take sole first place against Tan Zhongyi and the game was drawn.
Round 5 - April 3, 2026
Lagno bounced back after her Round 4 loss by defeating Assaubayeva. Assaubayeva played a risky attack with a pawn and exchange sacrifice that Lagno simply defended and then converted her material advantage in 40 moves. Zhu Jiner beat Vaishali when Vaishali made two critical inaccuracies in the Italian Game. Muzychuk drew with Goryachkina in a game full of exchanges and limited fighting. The result moved both Lagno and Zhu Jiner to join Muzychuk at the top.
Women's Section Standings After Round 5
Just one point separates first from last. With nine rounds still to play, this section is wide open.
What to Watch in Round 6
In the Open section, the key game is Wei Yi vs Sindarov. Wei Yi has the white pieces and a chance to slow down the runaway leader. Caruana plays Esipenko and needs a win to stay within striking distance.
In the Women’s section, Zhu Jiner faces Muzychuk in a direct clash between two of the co-leaders. A win here could open a gap at the top. Lagno plays Vaishali and will look to extend her lead.
Both sections are being played daily at 15:30 local time in Cyprus. Round 7 follows on April 5, with a rest day on April 6 before the tournament resumes.
FAQs
After Round 5, nine rounds remain. The tournament runs until April 16, 2026, with tie-breaks on the final day if needed.
Mathematically yes. He is on 1.5/5 and trails Sindarov by 3 full points with nine rounds to go. But it would require a near-perfect run combined with a collapse from Sindarov.
The Open winner gets to challenge World Champion D Gukesh in a 14-game World Championship match later in 2026. The Women's winner challenges reigning Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun.
Players from Russia are currently competing under the FIDE flag due to geopolitical sanctions imposed on Russian athletes in international sport.
