Anna Muzychuk has taken the lead in the 2026 Candidates Tournament following her first victory
Ukrainian grandmaster Anna Muzychuk has taken the lead in the 2026 Women’s Chess Candidates Tournament following her victory in the fourth round, according to Suspilne Sport.
Prior to this match, she had drawn three games against Divya Deshmukh, Tan Zhunyi and Vaishali Rameshbabu.
In the fourth round, Muzychuk faced ‘neutral’ player Kateryna Lagno. The Ukrainian controlled the game throughout, which ended on move 32.
Before the end of the match, Muzychuk exchanged pieces, and the decisive moment came when she gained an advantage in the endgame. At that point, her opponent was running out of time and resigned three minutes before the time limit expired.
The Ukrainian chess player created a checkmate threat that forced her opponent to sacrifice her queen, leading to an inevitable checkmate.
Following this victory, Anna Muzychuk scored 2.5 points and shared first place with Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubaeva.
Standings after the fourth round
1-2 Anna Muzychuk Ukraine — 2.5
1-2 Bibisara Assaubaeva Kazakhstan — 2.5
3 Vaishali Rameshbabu India — 2
4 Alexandra Goryachkina — 2
5 Kateryna Lagno — 2
6 Zhu Jinyue China — 2
7 Tang Junyi China — 1.5
8 Divya Deshmukh India — 1.5
After the conclusion of the fourth round, the players will have a rest day. Anna Muzychuk will play her next game on 3 April.
In the fifth round, she will face ‘neutral’ Alexandra Goryachkina, who is ranked seventh in the FIDE world rankings. The game is scheduled to start at 15:45 Kyiv time.
The Candidates Tournament is a key stage in the battle for the world championship title. Eight female chess players are competing for the right to play a match against the reigning champion, Ju Wenjun. The tournament is played in two rounds using a round-robin system and consists of 14 games for each participant.
