The 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament is approaching its conclusion.

With two rounds to go, Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan is two points clear in the Open tournament, so will almost certainly be playing a title match against Gukesh later in the year.

While the Open has been a procession, the womens’ tournament has been a lot closer, with four of the eight players still in contention.

Zhu Jiner of China and Vaishali Rameshbabu of India are both on 7/12, half a point ahead of Bibisara Assaubayeva of Kazakhstan and Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine.

Today’s puzzle is from the Round 10 game between Sindarov and Praggnanandhaa.

Sindarov (White, to play) has sacrificed a piece to create a strong pawn on e5 expose the black king. How did he continue here?