In the ongoing Candidates Tournament in Cyprus, R Praggnanandhaa, the only Indian participant, played to a draw against Andrey Esipenko, concluding the game in just 31 moves. Praggnanandhaa needed a win to boost his chances but opted for a cautious approach, leaving him at 2.5 points. Meanwhile, Uzbek player Javokhir Sindarov continues to impress, defeating world No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura and leading the tournament with 4.5 points after five rounds. Fabiano Caruana is in second place with 3.5 points, following his victory over Matthias Bluebaum. Anish Giri, who also drew his match, remains on 2.5 points alongside Praggnanandhaa. In the women's competition, Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine is co-leading after a draw, while other players, including Divya Deshmukh and R Vaishali, faced tough challenges in their matches.