Invincible Sindarov ends Pragg’s title hopes, but Vaishali keeps Indian dream alive

India's R Praggnanandhaa became the latest victim of the incredible Javokhir Sindarov, who is marching towards the title of the Candidates chess tournament with a two-point lead after ten rounds.

However, India has a strong chance in the women's category, where Vaishali R was leading on 6 points, following a draw with Anna Muzychuk.

Vaishali is the elder sister of Praggnanandhaa. Unlike in the open category, where the gap to the top is much wider, in the women's event, Vaishali only has a half-point lead over Muzychuk and Zhu Jiner.

In the Sindarov game, the 20-year-old offered a masterclass in queen vs double-rook ending to beat Praggnanandhaa and take his tally to eight points. The Uzbek star remains unbeaten in the event with six wins and four draws.

Anish Giri, who drew with Hikaru Nakamura, is on 6 points, while Fabiano Caruana is third in the eight-player field on 5 points. With four more rounds to go, Sindarov is a clear favourite to the title.

Once he wins, Sindarov will become the challenger to reigning classical world champion D Gukesh of India. Ju Wenjun of China is the defending women's classical champion.