About the Event

Fabiano Caruana enters the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament as one of the most established and battle-tested contenders in modern classical chess. He earned the right to challenge Magnus Carlsen for the World Championship in 2018 by winning the Candidates Tournament, later pushing the title match to twelve straight classical draws before the contest was decided in rapid tiebreaks. Caruana was the first player to qualify for the 2026 Candidates, sealing his place by winning the 2024 FIDE Circuit, a season-long pathway that rewards sustained excellence across elite events. In 2025, he continued to post top-tier results in major classical tournaments, reinforcing his status as a perennial title threat. Known for deep preparation and exceptional stamina, Caruana arrives in Cyprus with unmatched Candidates experience and a proven ability to hold form across long, unforgiving campaigns.

Praggnanandhaa’s rise from prodigy to elite contender has unfolded at remarkable speed. He first captured global attention at the 2023 FIDE World Cup, where he reached the final after defeating a string of top-ranked opponents, ultimately finishing runner-up to Magnus Carlsen. That performance confirmed his ability to handle sustained pressure against the world’s best. Praggnanandhaa is no stranger to the Candidates stage, having already competed in the 2024 edition, and he secured his return by winning the 2025 FIDE Circuit through consistent results across multiple top-level tournaments. A key member of India’s Olympiad gold-medal teams, Cyprus marks another major step in a career still very much on an upward curve.

Anish Giri returns to the Candidates with a profile built on elite-level experience, deep opening preparation, and sustained classical consistency. A grandmaster since the age of 14, he has spent more than a decade competing regularly at the very top, including multiple World Championship cycles. Giri qualified for the 2026 FIDE Candidates by winning the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand, finishing first outright in a large and fiercely competitive field. The result highlighted his ability to deliver in long Swiss-system tournaments, where precision and endurance are decisive. His return places him once again among the players contesting the final step toward a World Championship match.

Matthias Blübaum arrives at the Candidates after the strongest classical stretch of his career. He secured qualification by finishing second at the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand, claiming his spot on tiebreak after an eleven-round battle against a deep international field. Blübaum first announced himself at senior level with victory at the European Individual Championship, a tournament that rewarded consistency across a large Swiss. Known for his positional understanding and resilience, he has proven particularly effective in formats that demand sustained focus rather than short bursts of form. The 2026 Candidates marks his first appearance at this stage of the World Championship cycle.

Javokhir Sindarov earned his place in the Candidates with one of the most dramatic results of the qualification cycle, winning the 2025 FIDE World Cup in Goa. His triumph required success across classical games, rapid tiebreaks, and decisive knockout moments, highlighting his adaptability under pressure. Throughout 2025, Sindarov added further strong results in elite open events, confirming that his World Cup victory was no isolated peak. Still early in his senior career, he enters the Candidates as a player whose upward momentum has already carried him to the very top tier.

Wei Yi comes to the Candidates as one of the most naturally gifted players of his generation. He secured qualification by reaching the final of the 2025 FIDE World Cup, a result that marked his full return to elite competition after a period of reduced top-level activity. Wei has already demonstrated his strength in long classical tournaments, most notably with his victory at Tata Steel 2024, one of the most demanding round-robins in the calendar. With sharp calculation and an instinctive feel for dynamic positions, he brings a capacity for decisive results that can shape the course of a fourteen-round contest.

Andrey Esipenko claimed his Candidates spot by finishing third at the 2025 FIDE World Cup, winning the third-place match to secure the final qualification place from the event. His tournament was defined by a major comeback after an early setback, recovering to eliminate top opposition and reassert himself as a contender under pressure. Esipenko first drew widespread attention as a teenager with a classical victory over Magnus Carlsen at Tata Steel, and has since continued to mature through consistent performances at elite level. His World Cup run showcased both resilience and versatility, qualities that are further tested in the round-robin demands of the Candidates.

Hikaru Nakamura (36) has been a fixture among the world’s top players for over a decade. As a five-time U.S. champion, he has been a stalwart contributor to the strength of American chess. After a two-year break when he devoted himself to streaming chess, Nakamura came back in force. In more recent years, his versatility is evident in winning the 2022 Fischer Random World Championship and holding the title of the highest-rated blitz player globally. In 2022, he won the FIDE Grand Prix, the Bullet Chess Championship, and the World Fischer Random Chess Championship. In the Candidates Tournament, he finished in fourth place in the same year, narrowly missing the opportunity to compete in the World Championship match. Nakamura’s top form continued in 2023, with triumphs in the Airthings Masters, the American Cup, and the Chessable Masters. His victory in Norway Chess 2023 propelled him to No. 2 in FIDE’s July rankings. In the FIDE Grand Swiss 2023, Nakamura finished second, securing his place in the 2024 Candidates Tournament.

Zhu Jiner’s rise has been built the hard way: through long tournaments, sustained pressure, and an almost unmatched level of week-to-week consistency. A classical specialist by temperament, she has steadily carved out a place among the elite by excelling in formats that reward patience, accuracy, and stamina. Her breakthrough came in the 2024−25 FIDE Women’s Grand Prix series, where she topped the overall standings with 352.5 points and finished in the top two in all three legs she played. That level of reliability across multiple elite events secured her place in the FIDE Women’s Candidates and confirmed her status as one of the most dominating performers in the field. Away from classical chess, Zhu has also shown growing confidence in faster formats, finishing joint third at the 2025 FIDE Women’s World Blitz Championship in Doha.

Few players in the field are as closely tied to the World Championship cycle as Aleksandra Goryachkina. She announced herself at the very top in 2019 by winning the Women’s Candidates Tournament and earning the right to challenge Ju Wenjun for the world title, coming within touching distance of the crown in a tightly fought match. Since then, Goryachkina has remained a constant at elite level, combining deep positional understanding with a calm, economical style that thrives over long distances. Her victory at the 2023 Women’s World Cup underlined her strength in knockout competition, while her return to the Candidates was sealed through another strong campaign in the 2024−25 Women’s Grand Prix. In Doha in 2025, she added a major milestone by claiming her first World Championship title, winning the Women’s World Rapid Championship and proving her ability to convert elite form into gold on the biggest stage.

Divya Deshmukh arrives as one of the youngest contenders in the field, but already with a resume that reads well beyond her years. Her transition from junior star to senior force accelerated sharply in 2024, when she won the World Junior Girls Championship and played a key role in India’s gold-medal performance at the Chess Olympiad, earning an individual board prize along the way. The defining moment came in 2025, when she captured the FIDE Women’s World Cup at just 19 years old, becoming the youngest winner in the event’s history and securing the grandmaster title. Since then, Divya has continued to test herself against the very best, holding her own in open elite events such as the FIDE World Cup and the Grand Swiss, including a notable draw against World Champion Gukesh D in Samarkand. Her impact in 2025 was recognised beyond the chess world, earning her ESPN India’s Player of the Year award.

Koneru Humpy stands as one of the defining figures of modern women’s chess, blending early prodigious talent with more than two decades at the top of the game. She burst onto the world stage by winning the World Junior Girls Championship in 2001 and became a grandmaster the following year at just 15, at the time the youngest woman and the first Indian woman to do so. Since then, she has remained a fixture among the elite across all formats. Humpy qualified for the 2026 Candidates by reaching the final of the 2025 Women’s World Cup and arrives with a formidable record in speed chess, including five World Rapid and Blitz Championship medals: one gold, two silver, and two bronze. Her Women’s World Rapid title in 2024 and a fourth-place finish in the 2024−25 Women’s Grand Prix series, including victory at the Pune leg, underline her continued competitiveness at the very highest level.

Tan Zhongyi brings championship pedigree and extensive match experience to the Candidates field. A long-time cornerstone of the Chinese national team, she reached the summit of women’s chess in 2017 when she won the Women’s World Championship title. Her strength in long classical events was reaffirmed in 2024, when she won the Women’s Candidates Tournament in Toronto to earn another world title challenge. Although she fell short in the subsequent championship match against Ju Wenjun, Tan showed fighting spirit and depth across extended play. She booked her return to the Candidates by finishing third at the 2025 Women’s World Cup, defeating Lei Tingjie along the way, and once again positioning herself at the sharp end of the World Championship cycle.

Vaishali Rameshbabu has built her career on endurance, composure, and an ability to deliver across large, demanding classical fields. A prolific junior, she first gained international recognition through multiple world age-group titles before breaking through at senior level. Her victory at the 2023 FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss marked a turning point, earning her a Candidates spot and making her only the third Indian woman to achieve the grandmaster title. Vaishali was also part of India’s gold-medal-winning team at the 2024 Chess Olympiad. She confirmed her affinity for marathon formats by winning the Women’s Grand Swiss again in 2025, securing her place in the 2026 Candidates and reinforcing her reputation as one of the most resilient competitors in long classical tournaments.

Kateryna Lagno arrives with nearly two decades of elite-level experience across multiple World Championship cycles. She made her mark early, winning the European Women’s Championship in 2005 at just 15, and has since amassed an exceptional collection of titles across all time controls. Her career highlights include multiple Women’s World Blitz Championships, a Women’s World Rapid Championship, European titles, and team gold medals at Olympiads and World Team Championships. Lagno secured qualification for the 2026 Candidates by finishing second at the 2025 Women’s Grand Swiss, once again demonstrating her ability to navigate long classical events while remaining one of the most decorated speed-chess players of her era.

Bibisara Assaubayeva is one of the most distinctive talents in women’s chess, a player whose career has been shaped by fearless instincts, sharp calculation, and repeated success under pressure. After emerging through multiple world youth titles, she established herself at senior level as a dominant force in blitz chess, winning the Women’s World Blitz Championship in 2021 and 2022, and reclaiming the title again in 2025. Representing Kazakhstan, Assaubayeva has shown exceptional composure in knockout and fast-paced formats, where decision-making speed is paramount. Alongside her speed-chess dominance, her classical results have progressed steadily, culminating in the grandmaster title and a place among the world’s top-ranked women. She enters the Candidates as a proven world champion with the confidence that comes from repeated success on the biggest stages.