FIDE Candidates 2026

The FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 determines who will challenge for the World Chess Championship. Held at Cap St Georges Hotel and Resort in Pegeia, Cyprus, from March 28 to April 16, 2026. Both Open and Women's sections feature eight-player double round-robin formats (14 rounds each).

Open Section

1. Fabiano Caruana — 2024 FIDE Circuit winner
2. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu — 2025 FIDE Circuit winner
3. Anish Giri — 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss winner
4. Matthias Blübaum — 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss runner-up
5. Javokhir Sindarov — 2025 FIDE World Cup winner
6. Wei Yi — 2025 FIDE World Cup qualifier
7. Andrey Esipenko — 2025 FIDE World Cup third place
8. Hikaru Nakamura — highest average classical rating

Women's Section

1. Zhu Jiner — 2024-25 Women's Grand Prix first place
2. Aleksandra Goryachkina — 2024-25 Women's Grand Prix second place
3. Divya Deshmukh — 2025 Women's World Cup qualifier
4. Humpy Koneru — 2025 Women's World Cup qualifier
5. Tan Zhongyi — 2025 Women's World Cup qualifier
6. Vaishali Rameshbabu — 2025 Women's Grand Swiss qualifier
7. Kateryna Lagno — 2025 Women's Grand Swiss qualifier
8. Bibisara Assaubayeva — 2025 Women's Blitz Champion

Why It Matters

The Candidates is where legends are made. Every World Champion in modern history has passed through this crucible. The winner earns the right to challenge reigning World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju.