The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has announced the full pairings for the 2026 Candidates Tournament and Women's Candidates Tournament, set to take place in Cyprus from March 28 to April 16. The draw ceremony occurred at the Cap St George’s Hotel & Resort, highlighting key matchups such as Praggnanandhaa R versus Anish Giri in the open section and Divya Deshmukh against Humpy Koneru in the women's opener. These events will determine the challengers for the World Chess Championship titles.
The pairings for the FIDE Candidates Tournaments 2026 were finalized on Friday in Cyprus during a ceremony at the Cap St George’s Hotel & Resort, bringing together FIDE officials. Both the open and women's categories feature eight players competing in a double round-robin format over 14 rounds, starting March 29, 2026, at 15:30 local time. Games follow a time control of 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 30 minutes for the remainder, with a 30-second increment per move from move 41. In case of a tie after the rounds, playoffs will decide the winner, who will challenge Gukesh D. in the World Championship for the open section.
In the open tournament, Round 1 includes Javokhir Sindarov versus Andrey Esipenko, Matthias Bluebaum versus Wei Yi, Praggnanandhaa R versus Anish Giri, and Fabiano Caruana versus Hikaru Nakamura. Subsequent rounds feature notable clashes like Fabiano Caruana against Wei Yi in Round 3 and Hikaru Nakamura against Praggnanandhaa R in Round 6. The full schedule continues through April 15, with rest days on April 2, 6, 10, and 13.
The women's tournament opens with Divya Deshmukh versus Humpy Koneru, Vaishali R versus Bibisara Assaubayeva, Aleksandra Goryachkina versus Kateryna Lagno, and Zhu Jiner versus Tan Zhongyi. Later rounds pit Humpy Koneru against Kateryna Lagno in Round 4 and Aleksandra Goryachkina against Humpy Koneru in Round 7. The event underscores rising talents alongside established players, setting the stage for intense competition in Cyprus.
