FIDE
CANDIDATES

The FIDE Candidates Tournament and the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament are held simultaneously, bringing together sixteen elite competitors, eight in each event. Over fourteen rounds of classical chess, every result shapes the outcome of the World Championship cycle.

Only one player from each tournament emerges as the challenger. For all others, the margin between success and disappointment is measured move by move, game by game, at the highest level of competition.

In the spring of 2026, Cyprus hosts one of the most important events in the chess calendar. The world’s strongest players gather with a single objective: to earn the right to challenge for the World Chess Championship titles.