Candidates tournament is played between March 28 - April 16 2026 in Cyprus. The winner of Candidates tournament will challenge Gukesh for World Chess Championship. Open and the Womens Candidates will take place in the same place at the same time
Nakamura (USA, 2810) :Qualified to the Candidates through Highest Rating Spot Caruana (USA, 2795) :Qualified by winning the 2024 FIDE Circuit, 
Wei Yi (China, 2754) : Qualified as the 2025 Goa World Cup finalist 
Giri (Netherlands, 2753) :Won the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss in Samarkand 
Sindarov (Uzbekistan, 2745) : Won the 2025 World Cup in Goa 
Praggnanandhaa R (India, 2741) :
2025 FIDE Circuit winner 
Bluebaum (Germany, 2698) :
2nd place in the 2025 Grand Swiss 
Esipenko (FIDE, 2698) : 2025 World Cup 3rd Place | Rank | Players | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sindarov | UZB |
3.5 |
| 2 | Caruana | USA |
2.5 |
| 3 | Giri | NED |
2 |
| 4 | Praggnanandhaa | IND |
2 |
| 5 | Bluebaum | GER |
2 |
| 6 | Nakamura | USA |
1.5 |
| 7 | Wei Yi | CHN |
1.5 |
| 8 | Esipenko | FID |
1 |
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