FIDE Candidates pairings, full draw: Praggnanandhaa vs Anish Giri in round 1; Divya Deshmukh takes on Humpy in opener | Chess News

The pairings for the FIDE Candidates 2026 tournament and the Women’s Candidates tournament were drawn on Friday in Cyprus, where the prestigious event will be hosted in a couple of months. The FIDE Candidates Tournaments will take place from 28 March to 16 April 2026 at the Cap St George’s Hotel & Resort in Paphos, Cyprus. The opening round of the Candidates tournament will see the all-American encounter between two of the most experienced players in the field: Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura. Meanwhile, the only Indian in action, Praggnanandhaa R will take on Dutchman Anish Giri. Uzbekan’s Javokhir Sindarov will face Russia’s Andrey Esipenko while Frenchman Matthias Bluebaum confronts China’s Wei Yi in Round 1. With colors reversed, the same pairings will be repeated in Round 8, and the Berger tables schedule several decisive encounters late in the event.
Since regulations require players from the same federation to meet in the early rounds, the three Indians players in the fray, Humpy Koneru, Divya Deshmukh and Vaishali R will meet each other in the first few rounds.
The first round in the FIDE Women’s Candidates also presents several top-level encounters, many featuring players from the same federation. Zhu Jiner faces former Women’s World Champion Tan Zhongyi, Aleksandra Goryachkina meets long-time rival Kateryna Lagno, and Vaishali R takes on Bibisara Assaubayeva in a matchup between two of the youngest players in the field. The round is completed the meeting between Humpy Koneru and Divya Deshmukh, pairing one of the most experienced players in the tournament with one of its newest participants.
Here’s the full pairing for the Candidates 2026
Round 1 on 2026/03/29 at 15:30
Javokhir Sindarov – Andrey EsipenkoMatthias Bluebaum – Wei YiPraggnanandhaa R – Anish GiriFabiano Caruana – Hikaru Nakamura
Round 2 on 2026/03/30 at 15:30
Andrey Esipenko – Hikaru NakamuraAnish Giri – Fabiano CaruanaWei Yi – Praggnanandhaa RJavokhir Sindarov – Matthias Bluebaum
Round 3 on 2026/03/31 at 15:30 Story continues below this ad
Matthias Bluebaum – Andrey EsipenkoPraggnanandhaa R – Javokhir SindarovFabiano Caruana – Wei YiHikaru Nakamura – Anish Giri
Round 4 on 2026/04/01 at 15:30
Andrey Esipenko – Anish GiriWei Yi – Hikaru NakamuraJavokhir Sindarov – Fabiano CaruanaMatthias Bluebaum – Praggnanandhaa R
Round 5 on 2026/04/03 at 15:30
Praggnanandhaa R – Andrey EsipenkoFabiano Caruana – Matthias BluebaumHikaru Nakamura – Javokhir SindarovAnish Giri – Wei Yi
Round 6 on 2026/04/04 at 15:30
Fabiano Caruana – Andrey EsipenkoHikaru Nakamura – Praggnanandhaa RAnish Giri – Matthias BluebaumWei Yi – Javokhir Sindarov
Round 7 on 2026/04/05 at 15:30 Story continues below this ad
Andrey Esipenko – Wei YiJavokhir Sindarov – Anish GiriMatthias Bluebaum – Hikaru NakamuraPraggnanandhaa R – Fabiano Caruana
Round 8 on 2026/04/07 at 15:30
Andrey Esipenko – Javokhir SindarovWei Yi – Matthias BluebaumAnish Giri – Praggnanandhaa RHikaru Nakamura – Fabiano Caruana
Round 9 on 2026/04/08 at 15:30
Hikaru Nakamura – Andrey EsipenkoFabiano Caruana – Anish GiriPraggnanandhaa R – Wei YiMatthias Bluebaum – Javokhir Sindarov
Round 10 on 2026/04/09 at 15:30
Andrey Esipenko – Matthias BluebaumJavokhir Sindarov – Praggnanandhaa RWei Yi – Fabiano CaruanaAnish Giri – Hikaru Nakamura
Round 11 on 2026/04/11 at 15:30 Story continues below this ad
Anish Giri – Andrey EsipenkoHikaru Nakamura – Wei YiFabiano Caruana – Javokhir SindarovPraggnanandhaa R – Matthias Bluebaum
Round 12 on 2026/04/12 at 15:30
Andrey Esipenko – Praggnanandhaa RMatthias Bluebaum – Fabiano CaruanaJavokhir Sindarov – Hikaru NakamuraWei Yi – Anish Giri
Round 13 on 2026/04/14 at 15:30
Wei Yi – Andrey EsipenkoAnish Giri – Javokhir SindarovHikaru Nakamura – Matthias BluebaumFabiano Caruana – Praggnanandhaa R
Round 14 on 2026/04/15 at 15:30
Andrey Esipenko – Fabiano CaruanaPraggnanandhaa R – Hikaru NakamuraMatthias Bluebaum – Anish GiriJavokhir Sindarov – Wei Yi
FIDE Women’s Candidates 2026 pairings
Round 1 on 2026/03/29 at 15:30 Story continues below this ad
Divya Deshmukh – Humpy KoneruVaishali R – Bibisara AssaubayevaAleksandra Goryachkina – Kateryna LagnoZhu Jiner – Tan Zhongyi
Round 2 on 2026/03/30 at 15:30
Humpy Koneru – Tan ZhongyiKateryna Lagno – Zhu JinerBibisara Assaubayeva – Aleksandra GoryachkinaDivya Deshmukh – Vaishali R
Round 3 on 2026/03/31 at 15:30
Vaishali R – Humpy KoneruAleksandra Goryachkina – Divya DeshmukhZhu Jiner – Bibisara AssaubayevaTan Zhongyi – Kateryna Lagno
Round 4 on 2026/04/01 at 15:30
Humpy Koneru – Kateryna LagnoBibisara Assaubayeva – Tan ZhongyiDivya Deshmukh – Zhu JinerVaishali R – Aleksandra Goryachkina
Round 5 on 2026/04/03 at 15:30 Story continues below this ad
Aleksandra Goryachkina – Humpy KoneruZhu Jiner – Vaishali RTan Zhongyi – Divya DeshmukhKateryna Lagno – Bibisara Assaubayeva
Round 6 on 2026/04/04 at 15:30
Zhu Jiner – Humpy KoneruTan Zhongyi – Aleksandra GoryachkinaKateryna Lagno – Vaishali RBibisara Assaubayeva – Divya Deshmukh
Round 7 on 2026/04/05 at 15:30
Humpy Koneru – Bibisara AssaubayevaDivya Deshmukh – Kateryna LagnoVaishali R – Tan ZhongyiAleksandra Goryachkina – Zhu Jiner
Round 8 on 2026/04/07 at 15:30
Humpy Koneru – Divya DeshmukhBibisara Assaubayeva – Vaishali RKateryna Lagno – Aleksandra GoryachkinaTan Zhongyi – Zhu Jiner
Round 9 on 2026/04/08 at 15:30 Story continues below this ad
Tan Zhongyi – Humpy KoneruZhu Jiner – Kateryna LagnoAleksandra Goryachkina – Bibisara AssaubayevaVaishali R – Divya Deshmukh
Round 10 on 2026/04/09 at 15:30
Humpy Koneru – Vaishali RDivya Deshmukh – Aleksandra GoryachkinaBibisara Assaubayeva – Zhu JinerKateryna Lagno – Tan Zhongyi
Round 11 on 2026/04/11 at 15:30
Kateryna Lagno – Humpy KoneruTan Zhongyi – Bibisara AssaubayevaZhu Jiner – Divya DeshmukhAleksandra Goryachkina – Vaishali R
Round 12 on 2026/04/12 at 15:30
Humpy Koneru – Aleksandra GoryachkinaVaishali R – Zhu JinerDivya Deshmukh – Tan ZhongyiBibisara Assaubayeva – Kateryna Lagno
Round 13 on 2026/04/14 at 15:30 Story continues below this ad
Bibisara Assaubayeva – Humpy KoneruKateryna Lagno – Divya DeshmukhTan Zhongyi – Vaishali RZhu Jiner – Aleksandra Goryachkina
Round 14 on 2026/04/15 at 15:30
Humpy Koneru – Zhu JinerAleksandra Goryachkina – Tan ZhongyiVaishali R – Kateryna LagnoDivya Deshmukh – Bibisara Assaubayeva