The field is set for the 2026 FIDE World Classical Chess Championship Candidates Tournament, and for once Americans are favored to win not only the Candidates Tournament, but the entire FIDE world title later in the year.
Eight players from seven different nations will play each other twice – once each as white and black. Players score one point for each win and one-half point for each draw. As in soccer, whoever is at the top of the table with the most points after 14 games wins and will meet current FIDE world champion Gukesh Dommeraju of India.
Americans Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana , ranked numbers 2 and 3 in the world respectively lead the field. Caruana, (rating 2795) the reigning and now four-time defending United States Open Champion qualified as the 2024 FIDE Circuit winner. Caruana alsop lost the 2018 World Championship to Magnus Carlsen in the closet final ever. Nakamura qualified by virtue of having the world’s highest average rating – 2810. World number 1 Magnus Carlsen retired as five time undefeated FIDE World Champion in 2022 and is no longer competing for the title he held beginning in 2005.
The remaining six Candidates competitors are the top two finishers of the 2025 FIDE Grand SwissTournament (Dutchman Anish Giri and German Matthias Blumbaum), the top three finishers of the 2025 FIDE World Cup (Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindorov, China’s Wei Yi, and Russian Andrei Esipenko), and FIDE Circuit winner Pragg, from India. Of those six, only Giri (ranked 6th) Pragg (ranked 8th) and Yi (ranked 10th) are within FIDE the World top 10.
Unlike other Candidates Tournaments there is no automatic spot for the runner-up of the previous Championship (Ding Liren). To compensate, the 2024 championship will be considered an eligible tournament for the FIDE Circuit, with the runner-up obtaining special bonus points for the 2025 FIDE Circuit based on the score.
The pairings were released yesterday, and the opening round already features several key clashes, including the all-American encounter between Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura, a match-up with deep Candidates history, and the two rating favorites of the event. FIDE Rules indicate that in the opening round players from the same country must begin the tournament facing each other. FIDE RUles also e3nsure that no competitor will play three matches consecutively with the same color pieces.
Praggnanandhaa R – Giri brings together two of the most theoretically prepared and solid players in the field, while Sindarov – Esipenko pairs two of the youngest participants in a direct generational contest. Matthias Bluebaum and Wei Yi complete the Round 1 lineup in a meeting between two players making their Candidates debut. With colors reversed, the same pairings will be repeated in Round 8
The winner gets Gukesh, the 9th ranked [player in the world. Last October, in a 4-way, huge money tournament against Caruana, Hikaru, and Carlsen, Gukesh finished an embarrassingly distant last. Caruana finished second to a runaway winner Carlsen.
Book it – unless we get a ridiculous number of draws, or unless a favorite eats some bad butter chicken, the winner between Fabi and Hikaru will be the next world champion. You read it here first: we pick Fabi to beat Hikaru.
AI, THE BOOKIES, AND JF.COM ALL AGREE: IT’S CARUANA OR NAKAMURA WHO WILL DUKE IT OUT WITH GUKESH LATER THIS YEAR FOR THE FIDE WORLD TITLE.
