Candidates 2026 Rounds 5-7: Sindarov Reaches Historic 6/7 at Halfway Mark
Six out of seven. Read that again.
Javokhir Sindarov has completed the first half of the 2026 Candidates Tournament with 6/7, the best halfway score in Candidates history. Five wins, two draws, zero losses. He leads Fabiano Caruana by 1.5 points going into the rest day.
For context: the previous record was Ian Nepomniachtchi's 5.5/7 in the 2022 Candidates. And back then, Caruana trailed by just half a point. This time, the gap is three times larger.
We were asking after Round 4 if anyone could slow Sindarov down. Three rounds later, we have our answer: not really.
Round 5: Sindarov Stuns Nakamura
This was the game we previewed as the biggest test for Sindarov. Nakamura had White and the world's highest rating. He also had 67 minutes to think about his 13th move.
It didn't help.
Sindarov came armed with a novelty from the 2025 World Cup in the Marshall Gambit. Nakamura sank into a deep think and emerged with 13.h4, which turned out to be a critical error. From there, Sindarov converted with the kind of clinical precision that has defined his tournament.
The other decisive game was Caruana-Bluebaum, where Caruana broke through against the Petroff defense. Bluebaum's unbeaten streak ended with Caruana delivering checkmate with a pawn - something you almost never see at this level. Giri-Wei Yi and Praggnanandhaa-Esipenko were both drawn.
Round 5 results:
| White | Black | Result | |-------|-------|--------| | Nakamura | Sindarov | 0-1 | | Caruana | Bluebaum | 1-0 | | Giri | Wei Yi | ½-½ | | Praggnanandhaa | Esipenko | ½-½ |
Sindarov: 4.5/5. Caruana: 3.5/5. Everyone else: fading.
Round 6: Sindarov Makes It Five Wins
At this point, the question wasn't whether Sindarov would keep winning. It was whether he'd break some kind of record doing it.
Against Wei Yi, Sindarov navigated a tricky position after Wei surprised him with 5.a3 in the opening. But Wei's chronic time trouble (6 minutes left on the clock versus Sindarov's 51) made the difference. One imprecise move with 27...Re8 and the game was over.
Five wins from six games. In the Candidates. As a debutant.
The rest of the Open field produced three draws. Caruana-Esipenko was quiet. Nakamura-Praggnanandhaa was repeated. And Giri-Bluebaum set some kind of record for knight moves - commentator GM David Howell noted one knight moved 29 times out of 71 total moves in an 84-move draw.
Round 6 results:
| White | Black | Result | |-------|-------|--------| | Sindarov | Wei Yi | 1-0 | | Caruana | Esipenko | ½-½ | | Nakamura | Praggnanandhaa | ½-½ | | Giri | Bluebaum | ½-½ |
Round 7: The Fortress, the First Win, and the Record
Going into the last round before the halfway break, Sindarov had a chance to push for 6.5/7. Giri had other plans.
The Dutch number one built a fortress that even Sindarov couldn't crack. After 19.Nxb7 gave White a positional edge with minimal risk, Giri's defensive technique held. It was only Sindarov's second draw of the tournament. As Giri put it afterwards: he trusted his defensive skills, and it worked.
The round's only decisive game came from Wei Yi, who beat Esipenko with a sharp attacking victory. Esipenko surprised everyone on move 4, but Wei punished it when his opponent overlooked a key queen move that prevented castling. Wei Yi's first win of the tournament - and a welcome one after his Round 3 miniature loss to Caruana.
Caruana drew Praggnanandhaa in a game where the American had a 50-minute clock advantage and an interesting opening, but the position fizzled into a drawn endgame. Bluebaum and Nakamura also drew.
Round 7 results:
| White | Black | Result | |-------|-------|--------| | Sindarov | Giri | ½-½ | | Praggnanandhaa | Caruana | ½-½ | | Bluebaum | Nakamura | ½-½ | | Wei Yi | Esipenko | 1-0 |
Standings at the Halfway Mark
| # | Player | Rating | W-D-L | Points | |---|--------|--------|-------|--------| | 1 | Sindarov | 2747 | 5-2-0 | 6.0 | | 2 | Caruana | 2795 | 3-4-0 | 4.5 | | 3-4 | Giri | 2753 | 1-5-1 | 3.5 | | 3-4 | Praggnanandhaa | 2779 | 1-5-1 | 3.5 | | 5-6 | Wei Yi | 2754 | 1-4-2 | 3.0 | | 5-6 | Bluebaum | 2721 | 0-6-1 | 3.0 | | 7 | Nakamura | 2810 | 0-5-2 | 2.5 | | 8 | Esipenko | 2718 | 0-4-3 | 2.0 |
The gap tells the story. 1.5 points over Caruana. 2.5 over the middle of the pack. Sindarov can afford to play more cautiously in the second half and still win.
Nakamura's tournament has gone from disappointing to alarming. The world's top-rated player is seventh out of eight, still without a win after seven rounds. At some point, the math stops working.
Giri and Praggnanandhaa are tied at 3.5/7, half a point ahead of Wei Yi and Bluebaum on 3.0. The battle for second place will be fierce in the second half.
Women's Candidates: Muzychuk Leads, Vaishali Charges
The Women's Candidates has been wide open by comparison. After a three-way tie at the top going into Round 6, Anna Muzychuk separated herself.
Muzychuk leads at 4.5/7, half a point ahead of Vaishali Rameshbabu at 4/7. The Indian GM has been on a tear, winning her last two games including a dramatic result against Tan Zhongyi, who blundered in a winning position with 37...Ra1 in Round 7.
Divya Deshmukh also surged back into contention with a key Round 6 win over Assaubayeva. The women's field remains incredibly tight - the gap between first and last is only two points.
What to Watch in the Second Half
The tournament resumes on April 8. The pairings reverse, meaning Sindarov gets the opposite color against everyone he's already faced.
Key questions for the second half:
- Can Sindarov maintain this pace? He doesn't need to. Even a modest +1 in the remaining seven rounds would likely be enough.
- Is Caruana's experience enough? 1.5 points is a lot, but if anyone knows how to grind through a Candidates, it's Caruana.
- Will Nakamura finally find a win? His preparation has been neutralized repeatedly. Something needs to change.
- Vaishali vs Muzychuk: The Women's Candidates is heading toward a dramatic finish.
For full pairings and streaming links, check our Candidates 2026 guide.
Watch the second half of the Candidates live on Chess.com - follow every game with real-time engine analysis and GM commentary.Play on Chess.com