Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa has officially punched his ticket to the 2026 Candidates Tournament, clinching the lone Indian spot in the Open field after winning the FIDE Circuit 2025.
The 19-year-old
sealed qualification in dramatic fashion — with a last-minute sprint to London to play the open section of the London Chess Classic.
And he delivered.
Praggnanandhaa tied for first place in London with a sharp 7/9, pocketing 8.17 crucial circuit points — just enough to pull safely out of reach of Uzbekistan star Nodirbek Abdusattorov, his closest challenger for the coveted Circuit berth.
Abdusattorov won the elite invitational at London, earning 19.62 points, but still sits third on the leaderboard with 71.61. Pragg now leads with 115.17, while Anish Giri — currently second — has already qualified via the Grand Swiss.
In short, even if Abdusattorov sweeps the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships, he still can’t catch the Chennai prodigy.
The qualification means India will have just one representative in the Open Candidates in 2026, a step down from the power-packed trio of Pragg, Gukesh, and Vidit Gujrathi who played in Toronto 2024.
But the women will more than make up for it: Divya Deshmukh, Koneru Humpy and Vaishali Rameshbabu have all earned spots for the Women’s Candidates, to be held alongside the Open event in Cyprus next March-April.
Praggnanandhaa’s spot is richly deserved. His 2025 season has been nothing short of elite: victories at Wijk aan Zee Masters, Superbet Chess Classic Romania, UzChess Cup Masters, and the London Chess Classic Open; runner-up at the Stepan Avagyan Memorial; a top-15 finish at the Sinquefield Cup; and a fourth-round run at the FIDE World Cup.
Who’s In for Candidates 2026?
Seven names are locked in: Anish Giri, Fabiano Caruana, Matthias Bluebaum, Javokhir Sindarov, Wei Yi, Andrey Esipenko, and now Praggnanandhaa.
The final spot will go to the player with the highest six-month average rating (Aug 2025–Jan 2026), provided they log at least 40 classical games.
When & Where?
The Candidates will run March 28 – April 16, 2026, at Cap St. Georges Hotel & Resort, Pegeia, Cyprus.
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