Joint leader R Vaishali (7 points) needs to beat reigning champion Tan Zhongyi with black in the 13th (penultimate) round on Tuesday in order to claim the Cyprus Women’s Chess Candidates Championship title after Monday’s rest day. However, this is easier said than done.Of course, Zhongyi may perform poorly in this competition, scoring only 5 points, and sometimes be unusually inaccurate. On the other hand, with the help of a female psychologist, Vasya played chess with more balance and composure. While computer algorithms may improve her accuracy, the 24-year-old, the lowest-seeded player in the tournament, has yet to reach elite levels of chess.A victory in the 13th round will ensure that Vaishali will have her destiny in her own hands when she faces the Ukrainian-born Russian Katrina Ranio in the final round. If not, the 19th-ranked player in the world will have to rely on other results to win the championship, or force his way into the playoffs while tied for first.Momentum with JinerWith Zhu Jin’er (also with 7 points) being Vishal’s direct rival for the Candidate title and having the right to challenge Ju Wenjun for the Women’s World Championship, the Chinese team will not lack the motivation to stop India’s challenge.Top seed Gina, who has yet to show the expected sharpness and consistency, will face Russia’s Alexsandra Goryachkina in the 13th round and Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk in the final round. Although Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Ashobayeva and Anna Muzuchuk (both 6.5 points) are still in contention in the women’s category, they almost have to win the remaining two rounds, while Vaishali and Jinr do not.Jiri needs weapons to fight ZindarovOnly a win in round 13 by Anish Giri (7 points) could prevent runaway leader Javokhir Sindarov (9 points) from sealing the title, giving him a chance to dethrone D Gukesh for the world title with one round to go. Zindarov’s form shows that such a defeat is highly unlikely even for Kuroko. Giri held Zindarov to a draw after 85 moves in the first round.The Dutch general manager was well prepared and defensively resourced, and he was aware of the enormity of the task.
 needs to beat last edition’s winner Tan Zhongyi in the 13th and penultimate round on Tuesday, with black pieces, to.){kind=link}