Overview
- After Sunday’s Round 12, Javokhir Sindarov drew Hikaru Nakamura in about 35 minutes to stay two points clear on 9/12 and now needs at most one draw to become Gukesh Dommaraju’s challenger.
- Anish Giri missed a winning endgame against Wei Yi and remains two points back on 7/12, then faces Sindarov on Tuesday after a rest day in a must‑win game to prevent an early clinch.
- Zhu Jiner defeated R Vaishali in Round 12 to erase the Indian GM’s lead, leaving both tied on 7/12 with two rounds left in the Women’s Candidates.
- The women’s chase pack tightened as Bibisara Assaubayeva beat Kateryna Lagno to move within half a point, Anna Muzychuk squandered a winning rook endgame against Aleksandra Goryachkina, and Tan Zhongyi earned her first win by beating Divya Deshmukh.
- Both eight‑player events are 14‑round double round‑robins in Cyprus, and the winners earn a title match against the reigning world champions (Open vs. Gukesh Dommaraju, Women’s vs. Ju Wenjun) along with prize money.