Vaishali, right, capitalised on an error by Goryachkina. | Photo Credit: FIDE R. Vaishali maintained her sole lead in the Women’s Candidates chess tournament by scoring a crucial win over Aleksandra Goryachkina in the 11th round at Pegeia, Cyprus, on Saturday. The victory took her tally to seven points, with just three rounds remaining. Fellow-Indian Divya Deshmukh did Vaishali a favour by holding her strongest rival Zhu Jiner to a draw. The top seed from China now has six points and is sharing the second spot with Anna Muzychuk as the Chennai Grandmaster increased her lead to one point. Published – April 12, 2026 12:20 am IST Share this: Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Click to share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email More Click to print (Opens in new window) Print Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon Click to share on Nextdoor (Opens in new window) Nextdoor Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky Like this:Like Loading... Post navigation Activists protest against alleged cruelty towards community dogs Tamil Nadu: Teachers voice concern over defaced schools as polling nears