Candidates chess: Can Pragg set up a all-Indian title clash with Gukesh?

Can R. Praggnanandhaa find his way past a daunting field to set up an all-Indian World Championship chess face-off against D. Gukesh at the end of this year? This is the biggest talking as the 2026 FIDE Candidates tournament gets underway at the exotic location of Cap St Georges Hotel and Resort in Pegeia, Cyprus to play in the Open and women’s category from Sunday (29^th March).

The field comprises of eight players each in open and women’s sections, respectively, who have qualified through a two-year cycle which include winners of 2024 and 2025 FIDE Circuit, top finishes at FIDE World Cup, FIDE Grand Swiss and the highest average rating. Pragg, for whom it will be the second bow in Candidates after 2024, is the lone Indian in men’s section while Divya Deshmukh and R. Vaishali are the two among women after Koneru Humpy pulled out on safety perceptions.

A former World Rapids champions and the first Grandmaster among women from India, Humpy said she was left with ‘no option’ but to withdraw as Cyprus is close to Israel – which is locked in a month-long war now along with the US and Iran. ‘’After having prepared so hard for the tournament, it was a tough call. I didn’t have a choice, I had to withdraw,’’ said the seasoned campaigner as FIDE maintained it was a safe venue for the marquee tournament.

Gukesh and China’s Ju Wenjun are the reigning world champions and the winners of Candidates 2026 will play them at the respective World Chess Championship matches. Hailed as a prodigious talent, the 20-year-old Pragg who finished fifth in the last edition certainly sees it as his best chance, though world No.1 Magnus Carlsen rated Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana as the best bets to emerge as challengers.

World No. 3 Caruana is the most experienced ‘candidate’ in the tournament, all set for his sixth appearance this year. He has been featuring at the Candidates since 2016 and won it back in 2018. Nakamura, world No.2, and Anish Giri will be making their fourth appearances while Pragg will be making his second bow after 2024.

Pragg, who now has a live rating of 2741 and qualified as the winner of 2025 FIDE Circuit, sounded upbeat: ‘’I’m more experienced and I think I’m stronger than two years ago. I have also won a few top events, I believe I can do it again.’’

Here’s a look at the eight Candidates in men’s category:

Hikaru Nakamura (USA): The world no. 2 with 2810 rating qualified via highest average rating from August 2025 to January 2026.

Fabiano Caruana (USA): The current world no. 3, with a rating of 2795, made it to Candidates after accumulating the most points in the 2024 FIDE Circuit.

R Praggnanandhaa (India): One of India’s Gen Z brigade from Vishy Anand’s stable, he has a live rating of 2741 and qualified as the winner of 2025 FIDE Circuit.

Anish Giri (Netherlands): World no. 8 with a live rating of 2753 who made it as the winner of 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament.

Matthias Blübaum (Germany): At a rating of 2698, he had a surprising run at the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss, where he finished runners-up to ensure his qualification.

Javokhir Sindarov (Uzbekistan): A 20-year-old, with a rating of 2745, qualified after winning the 2025 FIDE World Cup.

Wei Yi (China): Now world no. 7 with a rating of 2754, he finished second at the FIDE World Cup.

Andrey Esipenko (Russia) Holding a rating of 2698, he finished third at the FIDE World Cup.

Format and time controls

The Candidates are double round-robin tournaments with a total of 14 rounds. Each player will play the other twice, once with white and the next time with black pieces. Each win will give a point while a draw will give half a point. The player with the most points will win the tournament.

If two or more players are on same points, then tie-breaks with faster time controls have to be played on 16 April to determine the winner.

The regular time controls for the open section is 120 minutes for the first 40 moves and 30 minutes for the rest of the match with a 30-second increment for each move. The time control for Women’s Candidates is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves and 30 minutes for the rest of the match.

Where to watch?

The Candidates 2026 will be shown LIVE on FIDE YouTube channel.