Chess Candidates 2026
All About the 2026 Candidates
The 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament is an eight‑player double round‑robin that will determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship 2026. The tournament takes place at the Cap St Georges Hotel and Resort in Pegeia, Cyprus, from 28 March to 16 April 2026. It runs concurrently with the Women’s Candidates Tournament. The winner earns the right to face reigning world champion Dommaraju Gukesh in the world championship match later this year.
As with every Candidates since 2013, the format is a double round‑robin: each player faces every other twice (once with white, once with black), totalling 14 rounds. The event is widely regarded as the most demanding tournament in chess, often more fiercely contested than the world championship itself.
The tournament will be held at the award‑winning Cap St Georges Hotel and Resort in Pegeia, on the unspoiled coastline of Paphos, Cyprus. The luxury resort offers cliffside views, private beaches, and a dedicated fan zone. The venue has hosted several major international events and is designed to provide an inspiring setting for top‑level chess, with a focus on privacy and comfort for players and spectators.
Side events include a 4th International Open (9‑round Swiss, €5,000 prize fund) and a fan zone featuring masterclasses, simultaneous displays, and Q&A sessions with legends such as Viswanathan Anand, Nigel Short, Boris Gelfand, and Alexandra Kosteniuk.
The eight players qualified through four distinct paths. Notably, for the first time since 1999–2004, there was no automatic spot for the runner‑up of the previous championship (Ding Liren). Instead, the 2024 world championship match was folded into the FIDE Circuit, with Ding receiving bonus points. The qualifiers are:
| Qualification path | Player | Rating (Mar 2026) | World rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 FIDE Circuit winner | 🇺🇸 Fabiano Caruana | 2795 | 3 |
| 2025 Grand Swiss winner | 🇳🇱 Anish Giri | 2753 | 8 |
| 2025 Grand Swiss runner‑up | 🇩🇪 Matthias Blübaum | 2698 | 32 |
| 2025 World Cup winner | 🇺🇿 Javokhir Sindarov | 2745 | 12 |
| 2025 World Cup runner‑up | 🇨🇳 Wei Yi | 2754 | 7 |
| 2025 World Cup 3rd place | 🇷🇺 Andrey Esipenko* | 2698 | 33 |
| 2025 FIDE Circuit winner | 🇮🇳 R Praggnanandhaa | 2741 | 13 |
| Highest average rating (Aug 2025 – Jan 2026) | 🇺🇸 Hikaru Nakamura | 2810 | 2 |
* Esipenko plays under the FIDE flag following the ban on Russian and Belarusian national symbols.
For a deeper look at each player’s journey, read our full qualification breakdown and individual player profiles: Caruana, Nakamura, Sindarov, Wei Yi, Esipenko, Giri, Blübaum, Praggnanandhaa.
The rating spot generated the most heated debate. To be eligible, a player must have the highest average rating over six consecutive lists (August 2025 – January 2026) and have played at least 40 rated games in that period. Hikaru Nakamura (world No. 2) had the rating but initially lacked the games. He entered four small opens in the US and Canada – Louisiana State, Iowa Open, Maritime Open, Dulles Open – playing 22 games against opponents averaging just 2090 Elo, scoring 20 wins and 2 draws. This secured his 40‑game count and the rating spot.
Critics, including Hans Niemann and Jacob Aagaard, labelled the tournaments “Mickey Mouse” and argued it cheapened the Candidates. Magnus Carlsen and Susan Polgar defended Nakamura, with Polgar noting his transparency. FIDE responded by changing the rating rules mid‑cycle (October 2025): players above 2650 now gain only 0.1 points for beating a player rated 400+ points lower, and no points if the gap exceeds 735. The reform was criticised by David Howell as “short‑sighted and flawed”. It came too late to affect Nakamura’s qualification. The full story is covered in The Rating Controversy.
— Hikaru Nakamura
Time control: 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 30 minutes for the rest of the game, plus a 30‑second increment per move starting from move 41.
Scoring: Win = 1 point, draw = ½ point, loss = 0.
Tiebreaks for first place: Two rapid games (15+10); if still tied, two blitz games (3+2); if still tied, a single sudden‑death blitz game with draw odds for black. For ties of three or more players, a single round‑robin is used at corresponding time controls.
Other ties: Sonneborn‑Berger, total wins, head‑to‑head, drawing of lots.
Prize fund: Minimum €700,000 total. Winner gets €70,000 + €5,000 per half‑point. Second: €45,000 + €5,000 per half‑point. Third: €25,000 + €5,000 per half‑point. All players receive €5,000 per half‑point scored.
For a deeper dive into the format and its history, see The Tournament Format.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 28 March | Opening ceremony |
| 29 March | Round 1 |
| 30 March | Round 2 |
| 31 March | Round 3 |
| 1 April | Round 4 |
| 2 April | Rest day |
| 3 April | Round 5 |
| 4 April | Round 6 |
| 5 April | Round 7 |
| 6 April | Rest day |
| 7 April | Round 8 |
| 8 April | Round 9 |
| 9 April | Round 10 |
| 10 April | Rest day |
| 11 April | Round 11 |
| 12 April | Round 12 |
| 13 April | Rest day |
| 14 April | Round 13 |
| 15 April | Round 14 |
| 16 April | Tiebreaks (if needed) & closing ceremony |
The pairings were drawn in February 2026. The full list is available below; for round‑by‑round previews and reports, follow our ongoing coverage.
📋 Show full pairings table
| Round | White | Black | Also |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sindarov | Esipenko | Blübaum–Wei Yi, Pragg–Giri, Caruana–Nakamura |
| 2 | Esipenko | Nakamura | Giri–Caruana, Wei Yi–Pragg, Sindarov–Blübaum |
| 3 | Blübaum | Esipenko | Pragg–Sindarov, Caruana–Wei Yi, Nakamura–Giri |
| 4 | Esipenko | Giri | Wei Yi–Nakamura, Sindarov–Caruana, Blübaum–Pragg |
| 5 | Pragg | Esipenko | Caruana–Blübaum, Nakamura–Sindarov, Giri–Wei Yi |
| 6 | Caruana | Esipenko | Nakamura–Pragg, Giri–Blübaum, Wei Yi–Sindarov |
| 7 | Esipenko | Wei Yi | Sindarov–Giri, Blübaum–Nakamura, Pragg–Caruana |
| 8 | Esipenko | Sindarov | Wei Yi–Blübaum, Giri–Pragg, Nakamura–Caruana |
| 9 | Nakamura | Esipenko | Caruana–Giri, Pragg–Wei Yi, Blübaum–Sindarov |
| 10 | Esipenko | Blübaum | Sindarov–Pragg, Wei Yi–Caruana, Giri–Nakamura |
| 11 | Giri | Esipenko | Nakamura–Wei Yi, Caruana–Sindarov, Pragg–Blübaum |
| 12 | Esipenko | Pragg | Blübaum–Caruana, Sindarov–Nakamura, Wei Yi–Giri |
| 13 | Wei Yi | Esipenko | Giri–Sindarov, Nakamura–Blübaum, Caruana–Pragg |
| 14 | Esipenko | Caruana | Pragg–Nakamura, Blübaum–Giri, Sindarov–Wei Yi |
We will provide daily round previews and round reports throughout the tournament.
On 22 March, Koneru Humpy withdrew from the Women’s Candidates citing personal safety concerns after a drone strike on a British air base in Cyprus on 1 March. She was replaced by Anna Muzychuk. The incident has also led to a Level 3 travel advisory from the US State Department. Hikaru Nakamura added to concerns by tweeting about extended power outages in Cyprus. FIDE has insisted the tournament will go ahead, with CEO Emil Sutovsky stating there is “nothing even remotely dangerous”. Germany’s Wadim Rosenstein has offered to host the event if needed.
For the latest news, follow our Daily Digest.
Bookmakers and prediction markets have Fabiano Caruana as the clear favourite. Current odds (OLBG / Polymarket):
| Player | Odds (Fractional) | Implied probability |
|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 Fabiano Caruana | 13/8 | 38.1% |
| 🇺🇸 Hikaru Nakamura | 13/5 | 27.8% |
| 🇺🇿 Javokhir Sindarov | 9/2 | 18.2% |
| 🇮🇳 R Praggnanandhaa | 5/1 | 16.7% |
| 🇳🇱 Anish Giri | 8/1 | 11.1% |
| 🇨🇳 Wei Yi | 18/1 | 5.3% |
| 🇷🇺 Andrey Esipenko | 25/1 | 3.8% |
| 🇩🇪 Matthias Blübaum | 66/1 | 1.5% |
For expert tier lists and analysis, see The Tier Wars and What the Numbers Say.
Explore our in‑depth series on the Candidates Tournament:
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