The pairings for the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament have been announced, with Fabiano Caruana facing Hikaru Nakamura in the opening round. The event, set to determine the challenger for world champion Gukesh Dommaraju, will take place in Cyprus starting March 29. Pairings for the Women's Candidates Tournament were also revealed at the same ceremony.
The drawing of lots ceremony for the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament occurred at the Cap St George’s Hotel & Resort in Cyprus, the venue for the upcoming event. Conducted without players present, the ceremony involved FIDE Vice President Georgios Makropoulos, Cyprus Chess Federation President Criton Tornaritis, Hotel Director Constantinos Malaou, and Chief Arbiter Takis Nikolopoulos. The pairings were determined by selecting shells, following a policy that schedules players from the same federation early to prevent collusion.
In the open section, round one features Caruana with white against Nakamura, both from the United States. Nakamura has won five of their last 12 classical games. Other matchups include Javokhir Sindarov versus Andrey Esipenko, Matthias Bluebaum versus Wei Yi, and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu versus Anish Giri. Veterans face debutants in the first round. Nakamura and Giri face three black pieces in their first four games, while Sindarov and Bluebaum have three whites.
The tournament consists of 14 rounds where participants meet twice, alternating colors. Players were selected based on ratings and the FIDE Circuit at the end of 2025. Games begin at 15:30 local time (8:30 a.m. ET) on March 29, 2026. The prize fund is €1 million.
The Women's Candidates, deciding the challenger for Ju Wenjun, shares the venue and dates. Round one includes Divya Deshmukh versus Koneru Humpy (India), Aleksandra Goryachkina versus Kateryna Lagno (Russia), Zhu Jiner versus Tan Zhongyi (China), and Vaishali Rameshbabu (India) versus Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan). The draw was adjusted manually due to limited federations. Deshmukh's matchup repeats the 2025 Women's World Cup final. Divya and Vaishali have three whites in their first four games, while Lagno and Tan have three blacks.