Chess · Worth knowing

At the Candidates Tournament in Cyprus, round nine saw significant shifts in the standings. Anish Giri moved into sole second place after defeating Fabiano Caruana with Black in a Giuoco Piano, where Caruana's decision to play 16.d5?! closed the position and limited his dynamic play. Giri methodically seized the initiative, controlling the a-file and eventually launching a decisive kingside attack in time trouble. Javokhir Sindarov maintained his lead but missed a crucial opportunity to extend it, faltering with 24...Bxa4? against Matthias Bluebaum when 24...Qb7! would have given excellent winning chances. Sindarov now leads by 1½ points with five rounds remaining. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu failed to convert a clear advantage against Wei Yi, missing several tactical opportunities including the concrete 38.Nxc8, partly due to time pressure. With competitive play continuing across the board despite lower-placed players being effectively eliminated, the tournament remains engaging through the final stretch.

After round nine of the Women's Candidates Tournament in Cyprus, Vaishali Rameshbabu and Zhu Jiner share the lead with 5.5 points each. Vaishali defeated Divya Deshmukh with precise conversion of a positional advantage, capitalizing on Deshmukh's overambitious 14...b5 that weakened her c6-pawn. Zhu beat Kateryna Lagno after Lagno missed the critical 20...d4, instead playing 20...dxe4 and allowing White a clear edge that Zhu converted through controlled endgame play. Anna Muzychuk drew with Tan Zhongyi despite holding a positional advantage and stands alone in third, half a point behind the leaders. Deshmukh and Lagno trail by another half point with five rounds remaining.