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The first round of the Women's Candidates Tournament began in Pegeia with all four games ending in draws, though the play across the boards was generally combative. The tournament is being held alongside the open section for only the second time, following the 2024 edition in Toronto, which marked the first instance of both events running concurrently.
Five players from that earlier edition have returned: Tan Zhongyi, who won the 2024 event and subsequently challenged Ju Wenjun for the world title, as well as Aleksandra Goryachkina, Anna Muzychuk, Kateryna Lagno and Vaishali Rameshbabu. Completing the eight-player field are three younger contenders who have been making a strong impression on the women's circuit in recent years: Zhu Jiner (23), Bibisara Assaubayeva (22) and Divya Deshmukh (20).
In accordance with the regulations, two pairs of compatriots were drawn against each other in the opening round to reduce the risk of collusion later in the event. This led to Zhu facing Tan in an all-Chinese encounter, while Goryachkina met Lagno.
The two Indian representatives, Vaishali and Deshmukh, were not paired together in round one, as the original draw had Deshmukh facing Humpy Koneru. Following Koneru's withdrawal from the tournament, her replacement Anna Muzychuk took her place in the pairings and thus faced Deshmukh on Sunday. The all-Indian clash has instead been deferred to round two.
Ukrainian GM Anna Muzychuk entered the tournament as a late replacement for Humpy Koneru | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
Despite the four drawn results, at least two games contained clear winning chances that went unconverted. Goryachkina obtained a favourable middlegame position against Lagno and had an opportunity to get a more tangible advantage, but did not find the correct way to capture her opponent's knight on move 24.
Aleksandra Goryachkina facing Kateryna Lagno | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
Zhu, for her part, produced an ambitious and well-prepared opening sequence against Tan, gaining the initiative, but an imprecise move order later on allowed the position to slip back towards equality.
Tan Zhongyi dealing with a tough position | Photo: FIDE / Yoav Nis
Both Zhu and Goryachkina will need to recover quickly from these missed chances, as they are scheduled to play with black in the second round. Over the course of a 14-round tournament, however, such moments may prove incidental rather than decisive.
The game between Vaishali and Assaubayeva featured the most acute time pressure of the day. In a complex middlegame, Vaishali was left with five minutes on the clock to complete fifteen moves before reaching the time control.
The time-control structure in the women's event, which provides a 30-second increment from move one, contrasts with the open section, where increments are only added after move 41 alongside a higher initial time allocation. This increment proved sufficient for Vaishali to maintain control of the position despite the clock situation, and the game eventually ended in a draw after 41 moves.
Vaishali Rameshbabu | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
The quietest encounter of the round was the game between Deshmukh and Muzychuk, although it also featured an interesting opening phase. Muzychuk spent nearly half an hour on her 12th move after being surprised early on, indicating that Deshmukh had managed to take her out of familiar territory.
As the game progressed, Deshmukh reached a position in which she could have tested her opponent more seriously, but did not choose the most challenging continuation.
The position gradually simplified, and the players agreed to a draw after 35 moves.
Divya Deshmukh having a look at her colleagues' games | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
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