FIDE Candidates: All you need to know; Praggnanandhaa faces tough challenge

All eyes will be on Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, when the FIDE Candidates chess tournament starts on Sunday (March 29) in Pegeia, Cyprus. Praggnanandhaa will be the only Indian in the Open section of the marquee event. It will be the second Candidates for the 20-year-old, who finished fifth (7/14) with a 50 per cent score at the 2024 Candidates in Toronto. This time, Praggnanandhaa will be looking to go all the way. The reason is that only first place matters in the Candidates.

Candidates (Open & Women’s) will be an eight-player double round-robin tournament consisting of 14 rounds. The winner of the Open section takes home 70,000 Euros, while the women's winner becomes richer by 28,000 Euros.

Tough challenge

Praggnanandhaa will be facing a tough challenge from the top two seeds: Hikaru Nakamura (world No. 2) and Fabiano Caruana (2018 Candidates winner). The Chennaiite has to be at his absolute best to have a chance of triumphing in the Candidates. He struggled in his only classical event this year (Tata Steel Masters, finished 11th), which is a slight concern. However, having prepared for more than 50 days, one expects Praggnanandhaa to strike form in the big event.

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Javokhir Sindarov (World Cup winner), Wei Yi (World Cup runner-up), Anish Giri (Grand Swiss Winner), Mathias Bluebaum (2nd in Grand Swiss) and Andrei Esipenko (3rd in World Cup) complete the line-up.

Praggnanandhaa had a great first half in 2025, winning the Tata Steel Masters (in Wijk aan Zee), Superbet Chess Classic (in Bucharest) and UzChess Cup Masters (in Tashkent). Winning three titles propelled him to India No. 1 and World No. 4 in the July FIDE rating list. In the second half of 2025, the Indian’s performance dipped. Starting as top seed, he struggled in the Grand Swiss, finishing 35th. He followed it up with another below-par show in the World Cup, going down to Daniil Dubov in the fourth round.

Praggnanandhaa ended 2025 on a high, jointly winning the London Chess Classic Open with Velimir Ivic and Ameet Ghasi. Importantly, this victory helped him win the FIDE Circuit and qualify for Candidates.

Praggnanandhaa's experience

Going into the Candidates, Praggnanandhaa will be looking to stave off his disappointing show in Wijk aan Zee, and bring his A game to the most important tournament of the year. Having the experience of competing in Candidates should stand him in good stead. If Praggnanandhaa performs well in the first half, he will be in the running for top spot.

"There are several people who intrigued me. It's already the second Candidates for Pragg. He is experienced and looks motivated. Pragg has slowed down a little bit in the last few months but mentally maybe he is just peaking for the Candidates," said Viswanathan Anand.

When asked how he would rate Praggnandhaa's chances in the Candidates, International Master Venkatachalam Saravanan said: "My favourites are Caruana and Nakamura. Sindarov and Pragg are my dark horses. I consider Pragg to have a fairly good chance to (30 to 35 per cent) win the Candidates.”

According to GM Sundararajan Kidambi, Praggnandhaa has reasonable chances to win the big event.

Caruana has been the second-best classical player after Magnus Carlsen for the last 10 years. World title is the only missing element in his CV. The American stretched Carlsen to the limit before coming second best in his 2018 World Championship Match in London. He has qualified for the Candidates for the sixth straight time, which is an amazing feat. In the last Candidates, the 31-year-old was close to tying for the top spot with D Gukesh but missed a win against Ian Nepomniachtchi to finish joint second. He is most of the experts’ pick to win Candidates. If Caruana reproduces his 2018 Candidates form, he will be hard to stop.

'Carauna one of the favourites'

“Carauna is one of the best players in the world. He is the best-prepared player in the classical format. His result will depend on how he handles sharp players like Esipenko and Pragg. Of course, he is still one of the favourites to win the event,” reflected Saravanan when asked about Caruana’s hopes of clinching the Candidates.

Kidambi echoed the same: “Caruana would rank among favourites with his experience and form.”

Among top players, Nakamura is the most popular chess player not only because he is a great player but also owing to his streaming skills. Being the top seed, the five-time American champion will fancy his chances.

“Nakamura is one of the favourites to win. He is extremely difficult to beat. Nakamura is probably one of the best defenders in the world. It’s impossible to catch Nakamura in the opening because of the huge number of games he plays online. With Nakamura you have to play and beat him, which many players are not capable of in this field,” Saravanan said when asked whether Nakamura can win the Candidates despite playing less classical chess.

Sindarov has not lost a single game in his last two classical tournaments (World Cup and Tata Steel Masters). He is the most improved player in the last 12 months, winning the World Cup, besides taking the second spot in Wijk aan Zee. Being in the Candidates for the first time, it will be a tough challenge for the Uzbek but he will be in contention for the top spots.

Winning more games will be the key to Wei Yi having a successful Candidates.

Women's Candidates

In the Women’s Candidates, which will take place simultaneously, two Indians will be competing: Divya Deshmukh (winner of Women’s World Cup) and Vaishali Rameshbabu (Women’s Grand Swiss winner). Divya, who has made a big leap in the last one year, can be termed as a dark horse. If Vaishali can handle time pressure well, she will be in the hunt for top spot.

India No. 1 women’s player Koneru Humpy, who was the third Indian in the fray, pulled out of the tournament, citing security reasons because of the ongoing Iran war. "After deep reflection, I have taken the difficult decision to withdraw from the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament. 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. This is a painful but necessary decision, and I stand by it," said Humpy on X (formerly Twitter).

Former World Rapid champion Anna Muzychuk, who finished third in the Women’s Grand Prix Series, comes in as a replacement for Humpy.

"Vaishali has an uneven style. Very difficult for Vaishali to win tournaments. Divya has come to this level recently. She has a fair chance (20 per cent). It will be difficult for Divya to challenge the Chinese," said Saravanan when queried about Vaishali and Divya's prospects in the Women's Candidates.

Kidambi was optimistic in his assessment, saying: "Divya and Vaishali should compensate extra for experienced Humpy not being there. Vaishali is more experienced this time, so she has more chances."

"There are several people who intrigued me. It's already the second Candidates for Pragg. He is experienced and looks motivated. Pragg has slowed down a little bit in the last few months but mentally maybe he is just peaking for the Candidates. Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura and Anishi Giri might have the feeling this is their time to go all the way in the Candidates. It's difficult to predict the winner of the tournament," said five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand when queried who his personal favourite in the Candidates, by FIDE YouTube channel.

Top seed Zhu Jiner can be called the slight favourite to win the crown. Tan Zhongyi and Aleksandra Goryachkina are the other frontrunners for the title. Kateryna Lagno and Bibisara Assaubayeva are the other participants in the event.

Players

(Open): Hikaru Nakamura (USA, Ranking: world No. 2, Rating: 2810), Fabiano Caruana (USA, world No. 3, 2795), Wei Yi (China, world No. 7, 2754), Anish Giri (the Netherlands, world No. 8, 2753), Javokhir Sindarov (Uzbekistan, world No. 12, 2745), R Praggnanandhaa (India, world No. 13, 2741), Mathias Bluebaum (Germany, world No. 32, 2698), Andrei Esipenko (FID, world No. 33, 2698).

Women: Zhu Jiner (China, world No. 2, 2578), Tan Zhongyi (China, world No. 6, 2535), Aleksandra Goryachkina (FIDE, world No. 7, 2535), Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine, world No. 8, 2522), Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan, world No. 9, 2516), Kateryna Lagno (FIDE, world No. 10, 2508), Divya Deshmukh (India, world No. 12, 2497), R Vaishali (India, world No. 18, 2470).

Praggnandhaa (Open) and Vaishali(Women) hold a unique record being the only sibling duo to compete in back-to back Candidates (2024 & 2026).

Candidates Winners (Open)

2013: Magnus Carlsen (Norway)

2014: Viswanathan Anand (India)

2016: Sergei Karjakin (FIDE)

2018: Fabiano Caruana (USA)

2020/2021: Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE)

2022: Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE)

2024: Dommaraju Gukesh (India)

Candidates Winners (Women)

2019: Aleksandra Goryachkina (FIDE)

2022/2023: Lei Tingjie (China)

2024: Tan Zhongyi (China)