FIDE Candidates: Full list of winners from 1950 to 2024 in open category
The Candidates tournament came into existence in 1950 as a qualifying tournament for the World Chess Championship final.
Over the years, the tournament has produced some memorable contests, while boasting of several high-profile winners.
India’s D Gukesh won the Candidates title last time out, in 2024, and went onto become the world champion after beating China’s Ding Liren.
The latest edition of the Candidates will happen in Cyprus, starting on March 29.
Here is the list of all Candidates winners in open category
- 1950 – David Bronstein
- 1953 – Vasily Smyslov
- 1956 – Vasily Smyslov
- 1959 – Mikhail Tal
- 1962 – Tigran Petrosian
- 1965 – Boris Spassky
- 1968 – Boris Spassky
- 1971 – Bobby Fischer
- 1974 – Anatoly Karpov
- 1977 – Victor Korchnoi
- 1980 – Victor Korchnoi
- 1983 – Garry Kasparov
- 1987 – Anatoly Karpov
- 1990 – Anatoly Karpov
- 1993 – Nigel Short
- 1995 – Viswanathan Anand
- 1997 – 2005 – Split Era
- 2007 – Top four qualified for eight-player World Championship final
- 2009 – Veselin Topalov
- 2011 – Boris Gelfand
- 2013 – Magnus Carlsen
- 2014 – Viswanathan Anand
- 2016 – Sergey Karjakin
- 2018 – Fabiano Caruana
- 2020-21 – Ian Nepomniachtchi
- 2022 – Ian Nepomniachtchi
- 2024 – D Gukesh
Published on Mar 29, 2026