Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, the 20-year-old Indian chess grandmaster, has secured his place in the 2026 Candidates Tournament after winning the FIDE Circuit 2025. This achievement makes him the sole Indian participant in the prestigious eight-player event that determines the challenger to the World Chess Champion. The Candidates Tournament is scheduled for March-April 2026.
Praggnanandhaa secured his spot via the FIDE Circuit route, earning 115.17 points, a comfortable lead over Anish Giri (81.18 points) and Nodirbek Abdusattorov (71.61 points). His last-minute entry into the London Chess Classic Open proved decisive. He tied for first place with Velimir Ivic and Ameet K Ghasi, ultimately finishing third after tie-breaks, adding 8.17 crucial circuit points. Abdusattorov's strong performance in the London Chess Classic Elite earned him 19.62 points, but it wasn't enough to surpass Praggnanandhaa.
"A long year on the FIDE Circuit, and I'm grateful to earn a place in the 2026 Candidates. Thank you for all the constant support," Praggnanandhaa stated on his X account.
Speaking to ChessBase India, Praggnanandhaa acknowledged the challenges ahead: "First of all, I want to be there 100 per cent. But overall, any candidates will be a tough tournament. If someone is there at the Candidates, that means they have showed what it takes to be there. It will be a difficult tournament for everyone". He anticipates a strong field, similar in rating to the previous year, emphasizing that there will be no easy targets. "In terms of ratings, I think it's similar to last year. Maybe there was one below 2700 player last year. So it's going to be extremely strong, and there's no one that's like a target," he added.
Praggnanandhaa's impressive run in 2025 included victories at the Tata Steel Masters, Superbet Chess Classic Romania, and UzChess Cup Masters. He also finished second at the Stepan Avagyan Memorial tournament.
The confirmed participants in the 2026 Candidates Tournament are Anish Giri, Fabiano Caruana, Matthias Bluebaum, Javokhir Sindarov, Wei Yi, and Andrey Esipenko. The final spot will be determined by FIDE rating, awarded to the player with the highest six-month average rating between August 1, 2025, and January 1, 2026, provided the player meets the required number of rated games.
While Praggnanandhaa is the only Indian in the men's section, the Women's Candidates will feature Divya Deshmukh, Koneru Humpy, and R. Vaishali.
The Candidates Tournament winner will challenge reigning World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju later in 2026. FIDE is yet to announce the dates and venues for both the Candidates Tournament and the World Chess Championship match.
Praggnanandhaa's qualification is a testament to his consistent performance and unwavering determination throughout 2025. He has demonstrated his ability to handle pressure and perform well against top-rated players.
