The FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 is an eight-player double round-robin chess tournament scheduled to take place between March 25 and May 1, 2026, to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship 2026 against reigning champion D. Gukesh. Organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE), the tournament follows a revamped qualification system introduced in 2024, that follows a merit-based qualification pathways through major events, ratings, and the FIDE Circuit. Unlike any other Candidates Tournaments, there is no automatic spot for the runner-up of the previous Championship (Ding Liren).
All the information: Candidates 2026 participants here / Candidates 2026 in Cyprus
Among the 8 participants in the Candidates, one will come from the FIDE Circuit 2025. Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa will play XTX London Chess Classic open tournament, in a bid to add more points in the FIDE circuit and 100% secure his Candidates 2026 participation. The event will be held parallel to XTX London Chess Classic Elite 2025
The XTX Markets London Chess Classic (LCC) returns to the capital between 26th November and 7th December 2025. Following GM Gawain Jones’s victory in 2024, the event will once again be held largely at the iconic Emirates Stadium, switching to London Novotel West in Hammersmith to avoid clashes with Arsenal home matches.
The XTX Markets London Chess Classic is traditionally among the Top Chess Tournaments of The Chess Calendar.
The FIDE Open, where Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa will participate, is a 9-round classical tournament suitable for those seeking IM and GM norms. Among the GM entrants are Pranav Anand, Stuart Conquest, Matthieu Cornette, Daniel Fernandez, Glenn Flear, Tamas Fodor, Eldar Gasanov, David Gavrilescu, Ameet Ghasi, Stephen Gordon, Alon Greenfeld, Mark Hebden, P. Iniyan, Velimir Ivic, Rinat Jumabayev, Alexander Kovchan, Martin Kraemer, Sebastian Maze, Georg Meier, Victor Mikhalevski, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Shreyas Royal, Vahap Sanal, Ilya Smirin, Matthew Wadsworth, Peter Wells, Daniil Yuffa. IM entrants include Miragha Aghayev, Benny Ayzenberg, Aaravamudhan Balaji, Svyatoslav Bazakutsa, Nicholas Brunner, Nico Chasin, Maciej Czopor, Marsel Efroimski, Alex Golding, Harry Grieve, Marcus Harvey, Jovanka Houska, Nikola Kanov, Tarun Kanyamarala, Akshat Khamparia, Filip Magold, Peter Roberson, Eytan Rozen, Shete Sammed Jaykumar, Niklas Schmider, Sven Tica, Loic Travadon, Thibault Vandenbussche, Hao Wang(ZJ), Jonah Willow.
To enter the FIDE Open, you must have a standard FIDE rating of 2100 or over (September 2025 rating list). Players with ratings below 2100 are invited to join one of the many other tournaments taking place at the London Chess Classic, including the U2100 Round Robin events. The FIDE Open is also open to members of the Chess Trust Accelerator Programme, subject to the prior agreement of the LCC Organiser. The LCC Organiser reserves the right to issue a small number of wildcard entries at their discretion.
