Paphos (Cyprus), March 31 Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa suffered a major setback in his campaign, losing to Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan in the third round of the FIDE Candidates Tournament here on Tuesday.
The defeat with the white pieces could prove costly for Praggnanandhaa, who had begun his campaign on a high by defeating Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri, leaving the Indian with 1.5 points after the setback and in urgent need of a quick recovery.
Apart from Sindarov, American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana – the pre-tournament favourite – defeated Wei Yi of China in one of the strangest games of the opening three rounds, with Caruana and Sindarov sharing the lead on 2.5 points apiece.
They are followed by Praggnanandhaa with 1.5, while Matthias Bluebaum, Andrey Esipenko, Hikaru Nakamura and Giri are tied for fourth with one point each. Wei Yi sits at the bottom with half a point in the eight-player double round-robin event with 11 rounds still to be played.
For Praggnanandhaa, it was a heartbreaking setback after a rousing start, as with the white pieces he faced a Queen's Gambit Declined, and on another day, it could have been a straightforward draw had he not pushed to play decisively.
Sindarov, the youngest-ever World Cup winner, has emerged as a fierce competitor against the world elite over the past year, and on Tuesday was no different as the Uzbek seized his chances in the middle game, sacrificing a piece to dismantle white's initiative early on.
Praggnanandhaa was pushed onto the back foot as the pressure mounted, and a series of errors in the later stages of the middle game proved costly for the Indian.
Caruana secured a win that few expected to end so swiftly, as the game began with an English Opening and initially promised a complex battle, but Wei Yi found himself out of preparation early on, allowing the American to seize control, trap a bishop with resourceful play and wrap up the contest in just 19 moves.
In the women's event being held simultaneously, Bibisara Assaubayeva of Kazakhstan finally broke the ice, scoring the first victory of the event at the expense of Zhu Jiner of China.
R. Vaishali kept herself in contention with a draw against Anna Muzychuk in an uneventful game, while Divya Deshmukh, the women's World Cup winner, staged a spirited comeback from a losing endgame to hold Aleksandra Goryachkina of Russia to her third consecutive draw.
In the other game of the day, favourite Tan Zhongyi of China also suffered a setback against seasoned Kateryna Lagno of Russia.
The Candidates is played to determine the challenger for the next world championship match. In the Open section, the winner will face D Gukesh while in the women's the champion will have a showdown with Ju Wenjun of China.
Results (Round 3) Open: Fabiano Caruana (USA, 2.5) beat Wei Yi (Chn, 0.5); R Praggnanandhaa (1.5) lost to Javokhir Sindarov (Uzb, 2.5); Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 1) drew with Anish Giri (Ned, 1); Matthias Bluebaum (Ger, 1) drew with Andrey Esipenko (Rus, 1).
Women (Round 3): Tan Zhongyi (Chn, 1) lost to Kateryna Lagno (Rus, 2); Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kaz, 2) beat Zhu Jiner (Chn, 1); R Vaishali (Ind, 1.5) drew with Anna Muzychuk (Ukr, 1.5); Aleksandra Goryachkina (Rus, 1.5) drew with Divya Deshmukh (Ind, 1.5).