Candidates 2026: Here’s all you need to know about the event that determines D Gukesh’s world title challenger | Chess News

FIDE Candidates 2026 Schedule, Format, Top Players, Prize Money: The FIDE Candidates 2026 which starts on March 28 and go on till April 16, 2026 at the Cap St George’s Hotel & Resort in Paphos, Cyprus, will give 8 players a chance tp face world champion D Gukesh later in the year. Alongside the men’s Candidates, there will be a women’s Candidates tournament as well which will feature India’s Divya Deshmukh and Vaishali R. Another Indian who was in the mix for the women’s tournament was Koneru Humpy who withdrew from the event citing personal safety concerns amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. She was replaced Ukraine’s Anna Muzychuk.
Meanwhile, in the men’s tournament, R Praggnanandhaa is the sole Indian in the field of 8 and he’ll be competing against names such as Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Matthias Blübaum, Javokhir Sindarov, Wei Yi and Andrey Esipenko.
Here’s all you need to know:
Candidates Format
In both the Open and the Women’s, the eight qualified players will compete in a double round-robin tournament, consing of 14 rounds.
Candidates Tie-break rules: In the event of a tie for first place after 14 rounds, a playoff will be played to determine the winner who qualifies for the World Championship Match, due to take place in November 2026.
Candidates Time Control
The games will be played with a time control of 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 41. Players are not permitted to agree to a draw before the completion of Black’s 40th move.
Candidates Prize Fund
The minimum prize fund for the event stands at a record one million euros. The winner will pocket 70,000 euros while the player ending second will take home 45,000 euros. The third place finisher will earn 25,000 euros. In addition, each player gets 5,000 euros for every half point scored.
Here’s the full pairing for the Candidates 2026
Round 1 on 2026/03/29 at 15:30Story continues below this ad
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
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 15:30Story continues below this ad
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
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 15:30Story continues below this ad
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
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 15:30Story continues below this ad
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
Divya Deshmukh – Anna MuzychukVaishali R – Bibisara AssaubayevaAleksandra Goryachkina – Kateryna LagnoZhu Jiner – Tan Zhongyi
Round 2 on 2026/03/30 at 15:30
Anna Muzychuk– Tan ZhongyiKateryna Lagno – Zhu JinerBibisara Assaubayeva – Aleksandra GoryachkinaDivya Deshmukh – Vaishali R
Round 3 on 2026/03/31 at 15:30Story continues below this ad
Vaishali R – Anna MuzychukAleksandra Goryachkina – Divya DeshmukhZhu Jiner – Bibisara AssaubayevaTan Zhongyi – Kateryna Lagno
Round 4 on 2026/04/01 at 15:30
Anna Muzychuk – Kateryna LagnoBibisara Assaubayeva – Tan ZhongyiDivya Deshmukh – Zhu JinerVaishali R – Aleksandra Goryachkina
Round 5 on 2026/04/03 at 15:30
Aleksandra Goryachkina – Anna MuzychukZhu Jiner – Vaishali RTan Zhongyi – Divya DeshmukhKateryna Lagno – Bibisara Assaubayeva
Round 6 on 2026/04/04 at 15:30
Zhu Jiner – Anna MuzychukTan Zhongyi – Aleksandra GoryachkinaKateryna Lagno – Vaishali RBibisara Assaubayeva – Divya Deshmukh
Round 7 on 2026/04/05 at 15:30Story continues below this ad
Anna Muzychuk – Bibisara AssaubayevaDivya Deshmukh – Kateryna LagnoVaishali R – Tan ZhongyiAleksandra Goryachkina – Zhu Jiner
Round 8 on 2026/04/07 at 15:30
Anna Muzychuk – Divya DeshmukhBibisara Assaubayeva – Vaishali RKateryna Lagno – Aleksandra GoryachkinaTan Zhongyi – Zhu Jiner
Round 9 on 2026/04/08 at 15:30
Tan Zhongyi – Anna MuzychukZhu Jiner – Kateryna LagnoAleksandra Goryachkina – Bibisara AssaubayevaVaishali R – Divya Deshmukh
Round 10 on 2026/04/09 at 15:30
Anna Muzychuk – Vaishali RDivya Deshmukh – Aleksandra GoryachkinaBibisara Assaubayeva – Zhu JinerKateryna Lagno – Tan Zhongyi
Round 11 on 2026/04/11 at 15:30Story continues below this ad
Kateryna Lagno – Anna MuzychukTan Zhongyi – Bibisara AssaubayevaZhu Jiner – Divya DeshmukhAleksandra Goryachkina – Vaishali R
Round 12 on 2026/04/12 at 15:30
Anna Muzychuk – Aleksandra GoryachkinaVaishali R – Zhu JinerDivya Deshmukh – Tan ZhongyiBibisara Assaubayeva – Kateryna Lagno
Round 13 on 2026/04/14 at 15:30
Bibisara Assaubayeva – Anna MuzychukKateryna Lagno – Divya DeshmukhTan Zhongyi – Vaishali RZhu Jiner – Aleksandra Goryachkina
Round 14 on 2026/04/15 at 15:30
Anna Muzychuk – Zhu JinerAleksandra Goryachkina – Tan ZhongyiVaishali R – Kateryna LagnoDivya Deshmukh – Bibisara Assaubayeva