Candidates R3: Caruana pounces on Wei's blunders, Sindarov beats Pragg

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
4/1/2026 – Two players have already established a clear lead after three rounds of the Candidates Tournament in Cyprus. Fabiano Caruana and Javokhir Sindarov both secured their second wins to move a full point ahead of the field. Caruana defeated Wei Yi following an uncharacteristic pair of errors by the Chinese grandmaster, while Sindarov overcame Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu in a double-edged struggle. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
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Caruana and Sindarov share first ahead of direct clash

After three rounds of the Candidates Tournament in Cyprus, two players have already opened up a full-point lead at the top of the standings. Fabiano Caruana and Javokhir Sindarov, both winners in rounds one and three, now share first place with 2½ points. Coincidentally, the two co-leaders are set to face each other in round four, where Sindarov will have the white pieces.

Also paired in round four are the two players tied for third place on 1½/3 — Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, who has scored one win, one draw and one loss, and Matthias Bluebaum, who has drawn all three of his games so far. The remaining four players are tied on 1/3 points in the lower half of the standings.

Round three produced two draws and two decisive results. The encounter between Hikaru Nakamura and Anish Giri was a correctly played game between two experienced elite grandmasters, both of whom had suffered painful losses in earlier rounds. The game remained balanced throughout, with neither player taking undue risks.

A draw was also seen in Matthias Bluebaum v. Andrey Esipenko. Bluebaum, playing white, opted for a rather convoluted plan involving the manoeuvre Rf1–e1–e2–d2, an approach proved inaccurate and allowed Esipenko to fully equalise already in the early middlegame.

With the position levelled and neither side able to create imbalances, the game soon simplified and concluded in a rather uneventful draw.

Round 3 results

Anish Giri, Matthias Bluebaum

Anish Giri and Matthias Bluebaum taking a stroll during round three - they both drew their games on Tuesday | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

The two decisive games differed significantly in character. Fabiano Caruana, with the white pieces against Wei Yi, was confronted with an early novelty involving the sacrifice of two pawns. Caruana spent considerable time in the opening phase, carefully calculating what appeared to be a deeply prepared and forcing line by his opponent.

Wei, meanwhile, blitzed out his first 15 moves, indicating confidence in his preparation. However, the Chinese grandmaster then encountered difficulties, spending nearly half an hour before playing the inaccurate 16…Rc5?!, after which he played the losing blunder on the following move.

Wei later explained that while his novelty, 8…Nb6, had been part of his preparation, he had not prepared this line for this particular game, which led to confusion over the details at the board. After these consecutive errors, Caruana needed only a couple of precise moves to secure a decisive advantage, and Wei resigned on move 19.

Video analysis by GM Daniel King

Fabiano Caruana, Wei Yi

Fabiano Caruana had just played the critical line, capturing on c6 with the bishop, following Wei Yi's novelty | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

The most dynamic and complex game of the round was the clash between the two youngest participants, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Javokhir Sindarov, both aged 20.

Sindarov, playing black, chose an ambitious continuation early on and soon sacrificed a knight for two pawns with 13…Nxb4

While not a forced decision, the sacrifice led to a sharp and double-edged position that suited his dynamic style. Pragg was forced to keep his king in the centre and soon found himself under sustained pressure, while also running short of time in a format that does not include increment before move 40.

Sindarov handled the initiative with notable composure, avoiding unnecessary complications and instead steadily improving his pieces while increasing the pressure.

Amid mutual time trouble, Pragg eventually cracked, allowing a tactical sequence that gave Sindarov a well-deserved victory.

Video analysis by GM Daniel King

Javokhir Sindarov

Co-leader Javokhir Sindarov | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

Standings after round 3

All games

In this video course, experts including Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller and Oliver Reeh, examine the games of Boris Spassky. Let them show you which openings Spassky chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were and much more.

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Topics: Candidates 2026, Fabiano Caruana, Javokhir Sindarov
Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
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