Paphos (Cyprus), April 8 Indian chess sensation Divya Deshmukh pulled off a superb turnaround, converting what looked like a certain draw into victory to take the joint lead, while her compatriot R Praggnanandhaa saw his title hopes take a major hit after a loss against Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri in the eighth round, leaving him almost out of contention for a top finish in the Candidates tournament here.
In the women's section, World Cup winner Deshmukh turned the tables on overnight leader Anna Muzychuk to take the joint lead with four others, including the Ukrainian, on 4.5 points from what had seemed a difficult position to defend.
Deshmukh played well to fight on and equalize, and then capitalized on an unforced error by her opponent in the queen-and-pawns endgame to score a vital victory.
The other Indian, R. Vaishali, drew with Bibisara Assaubayeva of Kazakhstan to join Deshmukh, Kateryna Lagno of Ukraine, China's Zhu Jiner, and Muzychuk in the lead on 4.5 points after eight games.
The event is now wide open, with Jiner giving a knockout blow to the hopes of her Chinese compatriot Tan Zhongyi to move to 4.5 points, while Kateryna defeated fellow Russian Aleksandra Goryachkina.
On a day when Uzbek Javokhir Sindarov simply decided to consolidate his lead and drew with tail-ender Andrey Esipenko of Russia in the 'Open' section, Praggnanandhaa, who had scored his sole victory over Giri in the first round, fell prey to some simple tactics from a seemingly equal position and lost his second game in the tournament.
Sindarov took his tally to 6.5 out of a possible eight, and looks headed for victory, with his lead now standing at a massive two points with six rounds remaining in the USD 700,000 prize money tournament that will also select the next challenger for reigning world champion D. Gukesh in the world championship match slated later this year.
Sindarov is followed by Giri and Fabiano Caruana of the United States, who both are two points behind and need a miracle to catch up with the leader.
Praggnanandhaa, Wei Yi of China, Matthias Bluebaum of Germany, and Hikaru Nakamura share the fourth spot on 3.5 points each, a full point clear of last-placed Esipenko.
It was a hard day at work for Praggnanandhaa, who started off with the Vienna variation with the black pieces. After initial opening discussions, Giri enjoyed a small advantage that the Indian was able to neutralize as the game progressed.
However, it was on the 35th move that Praggnanandhaa made an error, allowing Giri to unleash a sequence of moves that proved dangerous. Another mistake three moves later, and it was curtains for the Indian.
In another game, Bluebaum played out a draw with Wei of China, and the result inched them both up to 3.5 points apiece.
In the big game of the day, Nakamura finally proved his mettle and scored a huge victory over American compatriot Caruana.
Results (Round 8): Anish Giri (Ned, 4.5) beat R Praggnanandhaa (Ind, 3.5); Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 3.5) beat Fabiano Caruana (USA, 4.5); Andrey Esipenko (Rus, 2.5) drew with Javokhir Sindarov (Uzb, 6.5); Wei Yi (Chn, 3.5) drew with Matthias Bluebaum (Ger, 3.5).
Women: Anna Muzychuk (Ukr, 4.5) lost to Divya Deshmukh (4.5); Kateryna Lagno (Rus, 4.5) beat Aleksandra Goryachkina (Rus, 3.5); Bibisara Assuabayeva (Kaz, 3.5) drew with R Vaishali (Ind, 4.5); Tan Zhongyi (Chn, 2.5) lost to Zhu Jiner (Chn, 4.5).