Praggnanandhaa qualifies for Candidates 2026, to be only man to represent India
R. Praggnanandhaa won the FIDE Circuit 2025 on Monday to secure his place in next year’s Candidates Tournament as the only Indian man in the field.
The Chennai Grandmaster has enjoyed a standout season, claiming titles at the Tata Steel Masters, Superbet Chess Classic Romania, UzChess Cup Masters, and the London Chess Classic Open. He also finished second at the Stepan Avagyan Memorial and placed 12th at the Sinquefield Cup before bowing out in the fourth round of the recently concluded FIDE World Cup.
Seven of the eight Candidates spots have now been filled, with Anish Giri, Fabiano Caruana, Matthias Blübaum, Javokhir Sindarov, Wei Yi, and Andrey Esipenko joining Praggnanandhaa in the lineup.
The final berth will go to the player with the highest six-month average rating, calculated from the FIDE Standard Rating Lists between August 1, 2025, and January 1, 2026, provided the player has competed in at least 40 FIDE-rated games between February 1, 2025, and January 1, 2026. This must include a minimum of 15 games across any six consecutive rating lists during the same period.
The Candidates Tournament 2026 will be held between March and April.
While Praggnanandhaa will be India’s sole male representative, three Indian women — Divya Deshmukh, Koneru Humpy, and R. Vaishali — have also qualified for the Women’s Candidates next year.
Published on Dec 08, 2025