Chess can sometimes be a funny sport, but it’s the math of it that has always been brutal. If you want to become the World Champion, being one of the best is only an entry ticket. The actual path to the summit is a labyrinth of endurance where, in simple terms, you must first qualify for the qualifying event of the qualifying event.
While the World Championship match is the ultimate showdown between two players for the glorious title, the Candidates Tournament is the real engine that drives the biennial chess cycle.
It is fueled by a gatekeeping system so exclusive that the prestige of the Candidates Tournament often rivals that of the world title itself.
To get there, you must survive one of two gauntlets. You could play the long game to test your supreme consistency and maintain an elite rating across every format for an entire year, which guarantees a spot in the Candidates through FIDE Circuit Ratings. Or, you plunge into the chaos of the Grand Swiss, where a hundred players fight through nine enervating but non-elimination rounds for just two available spots.
For those who failed, there is the World Cup. A month-long, single-elimination marathon panning eight rounds with 206 players, it is a tournament without a safety net. One off-day, and you’re done for the cycle. Alongside them, the highest-rated player by average rating over a set period also earns a ticket, rounding out a field where every seat has been earned through an ordeal.
While such is the ordeal to be one of the eight players in the Candidates, the final field still missed some of the most promising names, such as Arjun Erigaisi, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, and Vincent Keymer. Starting Sunday, the 2026 iteration of the Candidates begins in Cyprus with India’s R. Praggnanadhaa as the sole representative.
No longer the wide-eyed teenager of his first Candidates, he is now a seasoned campaigner of the grind. Pragg has built his game on a combination of dynamic aggression and has an uncanny ability for damage control, meaning even on his off days, he remains a threat to the elite. And now that the nerves of his debut have evaporated, Pragg should feel ready to own the field.
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Taking nothing away from the extraordinary efforts of China’s Ding Liren and India’s D. Gukesh, both of whom fought through their own hardships to claim the title ever since Magnus Carlsen relinquished his crown, winning the championship has become a relatively less arduous battle.
Yet, the absence of a single dominant force in the mould of Carlsen, or before him, Vladimir Kramnik and Viswanathan Anand, has opened a door that once felt firmly sealed. Former world champion Garry Kasparov has often pointed to this shift, noting that the era of a singular, long-reigning champion has given way to a more volatile and open landscape.
Nonetheless, the task remains challenging for all eight players. The certainty in this Candidates lies in the uncertainty itself that no one enters as an overwhelming favourite in this event.
Among them, Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura stand apart. Caruana is playing his sixth Candidates, while Nakamura’s appearance in Cyprus marks his fourth. While to call them clear favourites at this stage would still be an overstatement, the duo is certainly experienced enough and well-equipped to weather the storm imposed by a varied and hungry field.
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With Caruana, there is also a certain degree of pedigree attached. He has carried the tag of being a “nearly man” for the better part of a decade, yet he possesses the ability to shed his inhibitions. He only needs to look back at his performance in the 2018 Candidates, where he notched up five wins and finished a full point ahead of Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Sergey Karjakin before giving Carlsen a run for his money in the world championship. Even if not at his absolute prime, Caruana remains the man to beat in this tournament.
For Nakamura, the question is how committed and serious he is about giving himself a genuine chance at this tournament. The American was one of the first players to reach Cyprus, setting up his base well in advance, and a well-focused Nakamura could prove to be a nightmare for any opponent in the event.
For China’s Wei Yi, this is a chance to bring back some lost glory after Ding Liren’s defeat to Gukesh. If anyone can replicate what Ding achieved, it is Wei. With a monk-like demeanour, he is an extremely solid and hard-to-beat opponent, built for the long grind of a Candidates tournament.
Uzbek sensation Javokhir Sindarov is a complete mirror image of Wei. The youngest player in the lineup, Sindarov is a tricky, energetic force and a master in disguise. Riding the high of winning the World Cup, he arrives with momentum and is as big a threat as anyone.
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Anish Giri, the chirpy, humour-loving Dutch grandmaster, steps into the arena as the winner of the Grand Swiss 2025. Playing his fourth Candidates, he brings a wealth of experience. Alongside Germany’s Matthias Bluebaum, Giri could well be the dark horse of the tournament.
The Russian representative is not Ian Nepomniachtchi this time but Andrey Esipenko. While Nepomniachtchi had broken the code of how to win the trickiest of events as a two-time winner, Esipenko could take inspiration from his compatriot if he hopes to be anywhere close to contention.
