The pairings for the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 and the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament 2026 were determined at a drawing of lots ceremony in Paphos, Cyprus. Both events, set for 28 March to 16 April 2026 at the Cap St George’s Hotel & Resort, will select challengers for the world chess championships. The schedule features double round-robin formats with eight players each.
The official Drawing of Lots ceremony took place at the Cap St George’s Hotel & Resort in Paphos, Cyprus, bringing together FIDE officials, representatives from the Cyprus Chess Federation, government authorities, partners, and guests. This event marks the start of the Candidates stage in the World Championship cycle.
FIDE Vice President Georgios Makropoulos emphasized the significance of hosting in Cyprus: “It is a very important decision to bring both the Open and Women’s Candidates to Cyprus. I am sure the players will enjoy Paphos and the chess games here. Chess in Cyprus is developing rapidly, and this event will help it grow even further.”
Cyprus Chess Federation President Criton Tornaritis highlighted its impact on youth: “We have the Candidates now in Cyprus, one of the biggest events in world chess. I would like to thank FIDE for bringing such an important event to our country. Our main priority as a federation is to support children and develop chess in schools, and events like this inspire the next generation of players in Cyprus.”
Constantinos Malaou, Business Development Director of the venue, noted: “The selection of Cyprus and of Cap St Georges by FIDE is a distinction of exceptional importance. It reflects international confidence in the standards, credibility, and organisational excellence required to host an event of historic and global significance, and it places our country and our resort on the world chess map at the very moment when the world’s attention turns to the road toward the crown.”
Chief Arbiter Takis Nikolopoulos conducted the draw, using Berger pairing tables adjusted to avoid three consecutive games with the same color. For the open tournament, U.S. players Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura will meet in Round 1, alongside Praggnanandhaa R versus Anish Giri, Javokhir Sindarov versus Andrey Esipenko, and Matthias Bluebaum versus Wei Yi. In the women’s event, Indian players Humpy Koneru and Divya Deshmukh face off in Round 1, with Vaishali R against Bibisara Assaubayeva, Aleksandra Goryachkina against Kateryna Lagno, and Zhu Jiner against Tan Zhongyi.
Each tournament follows a double round-robin format over 14 rounds, with games starting at 15:30 local time. The time control is 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, plus 30 minutes thereafter and a 30-second increment from move 41. A minimum prize fund of €1,000,000 is allocated, and ties for first place will be resolved by playoffs. The winners will challenge for the world titles in November 2026.