The battle for supremacy in the Candidates Tournament has reached fever pitch in Cyprus, with Indian women leading the charge. In a high-stakes ninth-round encounter, Chennai’s Grandmaster Vaishali Rameshbabu delivered a masterclass, defeating compatriot and World Champion Divya Deshmukh to clinch the top spot on the points table.

Vaishali, now tied for the lead with China’s Jiner Zhu at 5.5 points, dismantled Divya’s defense in just 31 moves. While Divya had shown immense grit in previous rounds by defeating Anna Muzychuk, she found no answers to Vaishali’s clinical precision today. Despite the loss, 20-year-old Divya remains a dark horse in the race, trailing slightly behind the leaders.

However, it was a day of disappointment for Vaishali’s brother, Praggnanandhaa, in the Open Category. Needing a win to stay in title contention, the young prodigy was forced to settle for a draw against China’s Wei Yi after a minor slip on the 42nd move. With only 4 points in his kitty, Praggnanandhaa is effectively out of the title race. Meanwhile, Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov continues his dominant run, leading the open section with 7 points. All eyes are now on Vaishali as she edges closer to challenging the defending World Champion.