Chess
2026 Candidates: Can Praggnanandhaa, Vaishali, Divya earn a shot at world championship?
All you need to know about the 2026 FIDE Candidates.
R Praggnanandhaa (Photo credit: Grand Chess Tour/Twitter)
The 2026 FIDE Candidates is all set to commence from Sunday in Pegeia, Cyprus. Some of the top Grandmasters from across the globe will flock down to the European city to earn the right to challenge for the world championship title.
A total of four Indians had qualified for the 2026 Candidates. But unfortunately, only three of them would be in action once the tournament commences. Veteran Koneru Humpy pulled out of the competition citing the heightened tensions in the region due to the ongoing war in West Asia.
Humpy faced tremendous backlash for speaking up about safety concerns, but the two-time world rapid champion stood firm on her decision.
“No event, no matter how important, can come before personal safety and well-being. Despite the assurances provided, I do not feel fully secure under the current circumstances,” she said in a statement.
“This is a painful but necessary decision,” she added.
Despite Humpy’s withdrawal, there’ll be three Indians in action. While Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu will be the country’s only hope in the open section, his sister Vaishali Rameshbabu and debutant Divya Deshmukh will feature in the women’s event.
A title win for Praggnanandhaa on the second time of asking will pit him against long-time friend and rival Gukesh Dommaraju in an all-India world championship match later this year.
Vaishali and Divya, on the other hand, are battling it out in the eight-women field to have a shot at taking away the world champion tag from China’s Ju Wenjun, who has been the undisputed queen of chess from 2018.
But the road to reach the world championship match isn’t easy.
2026 Candidates field in Open
Fabiano Caruana: Qualified by winning the 2024 FIDE circuit. Current world No 3, who was the challenger to Magnus Carlsen’s throne in 2018.
Anish Giri: Qualified by winning the 2025 Grand Swiss. Current world No 8 on a resurgence, having previously played the Candidates in 2016 and 2020.
Matthias Blubaum: Qualified with his runner-up finish at the 2025 Grand Swiss. The surprise entrant and lowest rated player in the field.
Javokhir Sindarov: Qualified by winning the 2025 FIDE World Cup in Goa. The youngest in the field.
Wei Yi: Qualified with his runner-up finish at 2025 FIDE World Cup in Goa. The youngest player ever to reach 2700 set to make Candidates debut at 26.
Andrey Esipenko: Qualified with his third place finish at 2025 FIDE World Cup. A Russian prodigy looking to revive the Russian glory.
Hikaru Nakamura: Qualified via the highest average rating. The world No 2 hoping to get fourth-time lucky.
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu: Qualified by winning the 2025 FIDE Circuit. Reigning world champion Gukesh’s choice for his challenger.
2026 Women's Candidates field
Zhu Jiner: Qualified by winning the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix. The women’s world No 2 touted to extend Chinese domination.
Aleksandra Goryachkina: Qualified as the runner up of FIDE Women’s Grand Prix. The highest rated Russian woman in history and a challenger to Ju Wenjun in 2020.
Tan Zhongyi: Qualified via third-place finish at FIDE Women’s World Cup. A former world champion, who conceded the title to Ju Wenjun in 2018
Kateryna Lagno: Qualified with her runner-up finish at the FIDE Women’s World Cup. A four-time world champion – thrice in blitz, once in rapid – now set for her fourth Candidates appearance.
Bibisara Assaubayeva: Qualified by finishing on top of FIDE Women’s events. The youngest women’s blitz champion set for Candidates debut.
Anna Muzychuk: Qualified as replacement for Koneru Humpy. A veteran hoping the third time’s the charm.
Vaishali Rameshbabu: Qualified by winning the FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss. A second consecutive appearance and India’s big hope to challenge the Chinese dominance.
Divya Deshmukh: Qualified by winning the FIDE Women’s World Cup. The youngest in the field but one of the fastest rising women’s players.
Format
Both the open and women’s Candidates tournament will follow a double round robin format. Each player will play the other twice – once with white and once with black, making it a brutal 14-round tournament.
The time control for the open section is 120 minutes for the first 40 moves and 30 minutes for the rest of the match. There’ll be a 30-second increment for every move.
Meanwhile in the women’s section, players will receive 90 minutes for the first 40 moves and 30 minutes for the rest of the match. The 30-second increment rule applies.
The players will pocket a point for a win and half-a-point for a draw. The one on top of the standings after 14 rounds will be crowned the winner and will earn the right to challenge the reigning world champions.
Indian Schedule
Round 1, March 29
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu vs Anish Giri
Divya Deshmukh vs Anna Muzychuk
Vaishali Rameshbabu vs Bibisara Assaubayeva
Round 2, March 30
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu vs Wei Yi
Divya Deshmukh vs Vaishali Rameshbabu
Round 3, March 31
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu vs Javokhir Sindarov
Divya Deshmukh vs Aleksandra Goryachkina
Vaishali Rameshbabu vs Divya Anna Muzychuk
Round 4, April 1
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu vs Matthias Blubaum
Divya Deshmukh vs Zhu Jiner
Vaishali Rameshbabu vs Aleksandra Goryachkina
Round 5, April 3
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu vs Andrey Esipenko
Divya Deshmukh vs Tan Zhongyi
Vaishalli Rameshbabu vs Zhu Jiner
Round 6, April 4
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu vs Hikaru Nakamura
Divya Deshmukh vs Bibisara Assaubayeva
Vaishali Rameshbabu vs Kateryna Lagno
Round 7, April 5
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu vs Fabiano Caruana
Divya Deshmukh vs Kateryna Lagno
Vaishali Rameshbabu vs Tan Zhongyi
Round 8, April 7
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu vs Anish Giri
Divya Deshmukh vs Anna Muzychuk
Vaishali Rameshbabu vs Bibisara Assaubayeva
Round 9, April 8
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu vs Wei Yi
Divya Deshmukh vs Vaishali Rameshbabu
Round 10, April 9
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu vs Javokhir Sindarov
Divya Deshmukh vs Aleksandra Goryachkina
Vaishali Rameshbabu vs Anna Muzychuk
Round 11, April 11
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu vs Matthias Blubaum
Divya Deshmukh vs Zhu Jiner
Vaishali Rameshbabu vs Alkesandra Goryachkina
Round 12, April 12
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu vs Andrey Esipenko
Divya Deshmukh vs Tan Zhongyi
Vaishali Rameshbabu vs Zhu Jiner
Round 13, April 14
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu vs Fabiano Caruana
Divya Deshmukh vs Kateryna Lagno
Vaishali Rameshbabu vs Tan Zhongyi
Round 14, April 15
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu vs Hikaru Nakamura
Divya Deshmukh vs Bibisara Assaubayeva
Vaishali Rameshbabu vs Kateryna Lagno