Candidates Tournament 2026: Praggnanandhaa Faces Challenging Task
Paphos (Cyprus): Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa, India’s sole representative in the Open division of the eight-player elite field, faces a tough task as the Candidates Tournament gets underway here on Sunday. The event, which will determine the opponent to challenge reigning world champion D Gukesh in the next World Championship match later this year, will feature eight players competing in a double-round format over the next two weeks. Each player will face other participants twice, and the one with the highest total points will earn the right to compete for the world championship.
Looking at his recent form, American GM Fabiano Caruana looks like the favorite ahead of his compatriot Hikaru Nakamura, who is ranked according to his rating. Dutch Grandmaster Anish Giri is also in good form and one to watch out for; If he gets his act together, he’ll be a formidable opponent.
China’s Wei Yi, Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov, Andrey Esipenko and Matthias Bluebaum are the other four players in what is likely to be one of the most competitive and most followed tournaments of the year.
The road to Nominations for Praggnanandhaa has not been smooth. But the Indian should feel refreshed after a well-deserved long break; Since the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in February, the young Grandmaster has not played any competitive chess and has instead been preparing for this event with his team.
After an impressive 2025 in which he qualified for the Candidates by finishing as the top performer on the FIDE circuit, the second half of the year saw an unusual decline in Praggnanandhaa’s form. This trend continued at Tata Steel Masters earlier this year.
The Indian hopes to turn the tide and make things go according to his plan.
The dark horse of the event is Sindarov, the youngest participant who surprised everyone by winning the Chess World Cup in Goa late last year. Sindarov has both the intelligence and fighting spirit to go the distance, and although this is his first Candidate nomination, the Uzbek is raring to go.
Wei Yi can be misleading, but a lot depends on how many games he wins. Along with Giri, the Chinese player is a great defender and is known for his toughness. Esipenko may not be considered a major threat in this area, but he remains a dangerous opponent today. Meanwhile, the lowest-ranked entrant, Bluebaum, is clearly an outsider despite being a consistent performer.
In the women’s division, former women’s world champion Tan Zhongyi of China has an advantage over the others, but things could get tricky here too.
After two-time world rapid champion Koneru Humpy withdrew due to safety concerns, the Indian chess player was replaced by last year’s Norwegian Chess winner Anna Muzychuk. However, all eyes will be on Divya Deshmukh to win the Women’s World Cup in 2025.
The other Indian in the fray is R. Vaishali and is known as a fearless warrior who longs only for victory.
Zhu Jiner is also a player to watch out for because he is known to annoy even the best. Bibisara Assaubayeva also proved herself to be a formidable opponent.
The two remaining Russian flag bearers are the experienced Kateryna Lagni and Alexandra Goryachkina, both of whom are capable of winning this event based on their past results.
The event’s total prize pool is US$1 million (Rs 9.49 billion), with US$700,000 (Rs 6.65 billion) allocated to the Open division and US$ 300,000 (Rs 2.85 billion) to the women’s division. The opening ceremony will be held on Saturday and the first round will be held on Sunday.
