"VAN" (Sports Desk - 16.04.2026) :: Vaishali Rameshbabu will challenge Ju Wenjun for the Women’s World Championship after winning the 2026 FIDE Women’s Candidates outright with a score of 8.5/14. In an exciting final round, Vaishali defeated Kateryna Lagno in a magnificent display of technique, while Bibisara Assaubayeva could only manage a draw in her game against Divya Deshmukh. Javokhir Sindarov, already crowned winner of the FIDE Candidates before the final round, made a quick draw with Wei Yi, allowing both Anish Giri and Fabiano Caruana to move up in the standings with two fantastic final-round victories over Matthias Bluebaum and Andrey Esipenko, respectively.
On Thu, Apr 16, 2026