The modern chess ratings system has proven a highly useful way of judging the relative strength of players at all levels of the game.
Then again, ratings aren’t everything.
That was one big takeaway as the FIDE Candidates’ and FIDE Women’s Candidates tournaments wrapped up in Cyprus last week: Young Uzbek superstar GM Javokhir Sindarov, ranked fifth in the eight-grandmaster open field, easily qualified for a match later this year with reigning Indian world champ GM Dommaraju Gukesh of India, dusting the field with an undefeated 10-4 result.
The result was a severe disappointment for the American top seeds Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura, who finished third and fifth, respectively, and now must wait until 2028 for another crack at a championship match.
The pre-tournament seeding was even more misguided in the women’s competition, as Indian GM Vaishali Rameshbabu, the lowest-rated player in the field, took the title by a half-point over Kazakh GM Bibisara Assaubayeva. The 24-year-old Vaishali booked a title match berth against longtime women’s world champ GM Ju Wenjun of China later this year.
While Sindarov romped to victory in Cyprus, Vaishali had to battle down to the wire, taking on higher-rated players in every round. She came through with a clutch final-round win over veteran Ukrainian GM Kateryna Lagno’s Sicilian Dragon, while co-leader Assaubayeva was being held to a draw by Indian GM Divya Deshmukh.
Lagno sportingly gives White the sharp battle she craved with 9. 0-0-0 d5!? 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Bc4 Be6!? (e6 was solid but dull) 12. exd5 cxd5 13. Nxd5 Nxd5 14. Bxd5 Rb8, sacrificing a pawn for some dangerous open lines to Vaishali’s king.
With 18. Bd4! (Qxa5?! Ra8 19. Qb5 Ra1+!? 20. Kxa1 Qxc2 21. Rd2 Ra8+ 22. Qa4 Rxa4+ 23. bxa4 Qxa4+ takes the fight into far murkier territory) e5 19. Bc3 a4 20. bxa4 Qc4 21. b3 Qxa4 22. Rhe1 Rb5 23. Re4, White stabilizes the position, holding onto her extra pawn and even laying the groundwork for an attack of her own on the kingside.
With the blockaded e-pawn preventing Lagno’s bishop from joining the attack, White lands a punishing blow right at the time control: 35. Bb2 Ra2? (looking in some lines for tactical tricks by taking on b2, but a tougher defense was 35…Qf6, though White is still better after 36. Rd7 R6a7 37. g5! Qxg5 38. Rxf7 Rxf7 39. Qxa8) 36. g5 Qb6 37. Qh4+ Kg8 38. Qe4 R8a4? 39. Rd8+ Kh7 40. c4! Rxc4 (Black must lose more material as she deals with the killer threat of 41. Qh4+; also losing were 40…Qf2 41. R8d2 Qf4 42. Qxf4 exf4 43. bxa4 and 40…Qxb3 41. Qh4+ Bh6 42. Qxh6 mate) 41. Qxc4 Rxb2+ Kxb2 e4+ 43. Kb1 Qf2 44. R8d2, snuffing out any last swindling hopes for Black.
After 47. Re1 e3 48, Qg2, Lagno resigned, facing a hopeless material deficit and still-smoldering mate threats along the h-file.
FIDE is still considering the dates and host for the title matches. With Sindarov just 20 years old and Gukesh turning 20 next month, this will be the first all-Gen Z title match in chess history.
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Ratings upsets weren’t restricted in the super-elite level in recent play.
Rising Turkish phenom GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, all of 14 years old, decisively defeated Bulgarian former world champ GM Veselin Topalov by a 5-1 score in a classical match in Monte Carlo earlier this month.
In another stunning result, 17-year-old Ukrainian IM Roman Dehtiarov is the new European individual champion, coming into the European Championship in Katowice, Poland as the 126th seed and beating a string of higher-ranked players on his way to a 9-2 result. The unheralded Dehtiarov entered the tournament with a rating of 2452, but posted a performance rating of 2781.
And there was a notable upset in last month’s 144th edition of the Varsity Match, pitting teams from Oxford and Cambridge in one of the game’s longest-running rivalries. This year’s contest, held in London, was drawn, leaving the overall series at a remarkably close 61 wins for Cambridge, 59 for Oxford and 24 draws.
Expert Remy Rushbrooke captained the Cambridge team and notched a critical point on Board 3, defeating Oxford master Aron Saunders with a fine sacrificial attack. Play was fairly balanced in this Reti Opening until the two sides declared their attacking intentions on opposite wings with 18. f5!? a5 19. Bf3 Bf7 20. g4 a4. Saunders as Black gets real pressure on the queenside, but, as so often happens in these kinds of positions, the first defensive lapse proves decisive.
White gets in the critical first punch on 27. g5 Rg8? (Black has to shore up his defensive weak points, but far better was 27…fxg5! first, as the defense holds in lines such as 28. Qxg5 Rg8 29. f6 Qxb3 30. fxg7+ Rxg7 31. Bxe5 Bxe5 32. Qxe5 Rxe2 33. Bxe2 Qe3! 34. Bg4 [Rxf7?? Qg1 mate] Qg5 35. Qxg5 Rxg5 36. Rxf7 Rxg4 37. Rxb7 Rxe4) 28. g6!, weakening Black’s pawn rampart as 28…hxg6?? 29. Qh3 is mate.
On 28…Bxc4 29. Qh4 h6 (see diagram; the h-pawn is such a juicy target that White can sacrifice the bulk of his army just to get at it) 30. Bc1! Bxe2 31. Bxh6! (this is no time to stop for 31. Bxe2?? Rxe2 32. Bxh6 Qxe4+ and Black wins) Bxf3+ 32. Rxf3 Qe1+ (Rd8 33. Bxg7+ Kxg7 34. Qh7+ Kf8 35. Qf7 mate) 33. Qxe1 gxh6 — Black at least has obtained a rook and a bishop for his lost queen, but the h-file remains fatally vulnerable.
Another line-clearing sacrifice clinches the point for White: 34. Rh3 Kg7 (Rg7 35. Rxh6+ Kg8 36. Qh4 Kf8 37. Qxf6+ Ke8 38. Rh8+ Kd7 39. Qe6 mate) 35. Rxh6! Rga8 (there’s no escaping the mating attack; e.g., 35…Kxh6 [Kf8 36. Qb4+ Ke8 37. Rh7 also wins for White] 36. Qh4+ Kg7 37. Qh7+ Kf8 38. Qf7 mate) 36. Rh7+ Kg8 37. Qh4 R8a7 38. Rh8+ Kg7 39. Qh7 mate.
(Click on the image above for a larger view of the chessboard.)
Vaishali-Lagno, FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament, Pegeia, Cyprus, April 2026
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. O-O-O d5 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Bc4 Be6 12. exd5 cxd5 13. Nxd5 Nxd5 14. Bxd5 Rb8 15. Bb3 Qc8 16. Kb1 Bxb3 17. axb3 a5 18. Bd4 e5 19. Bc3 a4 20. bxa4 Qc4 21. b3 Qxa4 22. Rhe1 Rb5 23. Re4 Qa7 24. Qe3 Qc7 25. Qd3 Qb6 26. Bb2 Ra5 27. Bc3 Ra6 28. Qe3 Qc6 29. Rc4 Qe6 30. Qe4 Rfa8 31. Rc5 h5 32. g4 hxg4 33. fxg4 Kh7 34. Rcd5 Qc6 35. Bb2 Ra2 36. g5 Qb6 37. Qh4+ Kg8 38. Qe4 R8a4 39. Rd8+ Kh7 40. c4 Rxc4 41. Qxc4 Rxb2+ 42. Kxb2 e4+ 43. Kb1 Qf2 44. R8d2 Qf5 45. Qd5 Qf3 46. Rc2 Qf4 47. Re1 e3 48. Qg2 Black resigns
Rushbrooke-Saunders, 144th Varsity Chess Match, London, March 2026
1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nd7 3. Bg2 e5 4. d3 Ngf6 5. O-O Bd6 6. Nc3 c6 7. e4 dxe4 8. Nxe4 Nxe4 9. dxe4 Nf6 10. b3 O-O 11. Bb2 Qe7 12. Ne1 Bg4 13. f3 Bh5 14. Nd3 Rfd8 15. Qe1 Nd7 16. f4 f6 17. Kh1 Bc7 18. f5 a5 19. Bf3 Bf7 20. g4 a4 21. Qg3 axb3 22. axb3 Kh8 23. Rae1 Nc5 24. Nxc5 Qxc5 25. Re2 Ra2 26. c4 Qb4 27. g5 Rg8 28. g6 Bxc4 29. Qh4 h6 30. Bc1 Bxe2 31. Bxh6 Bxf3+ 32. Rxf3 Qe1+ 33. Qxe1 gxh6 34. Rh3 Kg7 35. Rxh6 Rga8 36. Rh7+ Kg8 37. Qh4 R8a7 38. Rh8+ Kg7 39. Qh7 mateÂ
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