BENGALURU: By Indian chess' recent gold medal winning standards, the last few months have been below par. The World Cup on home soil was disappointing. D Gukesh is still searching for answers in a year he has to defend the title. Most of the top players have lost precious rating points a few months before they defend their Olympiad gold across both categories (open and women).
But because this batch of players are so talented, you can only keep all of them down for as long as possible. With just four rounds to go in the Candidates, R Vaishali has emerged to get ownership of first place. While she's only leading by half-a-point, it's already been a ride and a half.
It involved a below-par start, losing a game because of a mistake, winning a game because of a blunder and, now, with the business end of the tournament fast approaching in Cyprus, going on a run. During her inaugural Candidates in 2024, the Indian was slow to start off the blocks and went on a four-match losing run during the middle phase of the tournament.
This was kind of expected because she's a very imaginative player. She goes for attacking lines and doesn't mind a sacrifice if she knows she can create opportunities or winning chances down the line. This can, however, backfire.
This time, too, she started slowly. But she's the one setting the pace now. After beginning the tournament with four draws and a loss in her first five games, she has now won three of her last five games to be on six points, .5 in front of the second-placed Anna Muzychuk.
How did the 24-year-old reap rewards over the last week? By playing fighting chess and getting out of horrible situations. One of those moments involved beating Tan Zhongyi in round seven. Both players traded mistakes and the Indian could have well lost it if not for a blunder from the Chinese.
But following that blunder, Vaishali, who only became GM in 2023, sacrificed her rook and was on the path to checkmate when Zhongyi resigned. A few nights later, she sacrificed both her rooks against Divya Deshmukh to win a game she dominated right out of the opening.
"She has played exciting, fighting chess," Swayams Mishra, a coach who has been with the Indian women's team at the Olympiad, tells this daily. "In order to win the Candidates, you need to be brilliant but also have some luck.
"Her playing style means she takes risks, even when it's not necessary."
It can put her in danger but her appetite for risk-taking also gives her chances. And she will be banking on this appetite to create history by qualifying for the title match. No Indian woman has ever qualified for the final in the latest format to decide the title. Her unbeaten streak will put her in good stead but one match — against Zhu Jiner on Sunday — could be a winner-take-all clash.
Standings (after 10 rounds; Friday was a rest day): Open: 1. Javokhir Sindarov 8 points; 2. Anish Giri 6; 3. Fabiano Caruana 5; T4. Hikaru Nakamura, Wei Yi, Matthias Bluebaum 4.5; 7. R Praggnanandhaa 4; 8. Andrey Esipenko 3.5.
Women: 1. R Vaishali 6 points; T2 Zhu Jiner, Anna Muzychuk 5.5; T4 Aleksandra Goryachkina, Bibisara Assaubayeva, Kateryna Lagno 5; 7. Divya Deshmukh 4.5; 8 Tan Zhongyi 3.5.
Round 11 (on Saturday; only Indians)
Open: Praggnanandhaa vs Bluebaum
Women: Vaishali vs Goryachkina, Divya vs Jiner
