From 28 March to 16 April 2026, the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 and FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament 2026 will run side by side at Cap St George’s Hotel & Resort in Pegeia, Paphos. The playoff winners qualify for the World Championship Match, due to take place in November 2026.
This is one of the most challenging auditions in the sport. A 14-round double round-robin for each event, with no escape hatches. If players finish tied for first, the challenger is decided by playoffs. The minimum prize fund is a record €1,000,000. Games are played under classical time controls. Players get two hours for the first 40 moves, then 30 additional minutes, with 30 seconds added per move from move 41 onward.
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Cyprus setting the table
FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky told The Future Media the decision combined strategy and practicality. Cyprus is ideally located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and it offers stable conditions. The federation wanted to create a setting where players can focus on the games.
“One of the most important tasks of FIDE is to provide the players with the best possible conditions so they can focus on the tournament,”
he said.
The federation was impressed by Cap St George’s facilities and by what he described as a highly professional approach from the hosts during the months of preparation.
FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich sees the tournament as more than competition. He wants to build a local chess legacy.
“While Cyprus may not yet be widely recognised as a global chess hub, that is precisely what makes hosting the FIDE Candidates Tournament here so meaningful,” he told The Future Media. “Bringing a top-level event to a country is never just about the competition itself. It is about creating a lasting legacy.”
The Open Candidates: Eight Contenders, One Seat At The Table
The Open field brings together not only well-established household names and new arrivals. Players who have lived in the Candidates’ pressure cooker before, and others stepping onto the stage for the first time.
At one end are the veterans. Fabiano Caruana, a former Candidates winner who took Magnus Carlsen to tiebreaks in the 2018 World Championship match. Hikaru Nakamura, one of the most followed chess streamers globally, arrives via the rating spot. Then there is also Anish Giri, returning again after qualifying through the 2025 Grand Swiss.
However, this isn’t a nostalgia tour. The qualification routes themselves tell you how hard the door is to push open. Two players come through the World Cup’s gauntlet: Javokhir Sindarov, the 2025 World Cup winner, and Andrey Esipenko, who took third place. Wei Yi, China’s top player on the March 2026 rating list, comes in as the World Cup finalist and is making his first Candidates appearance.
It is hard to miss the next-wave feeling, too. Praggnanandhaa R, already tested at the top level, qualifies via the 2025 FIDE Circuit. And Matthias Bluebaum, described in the official preview as an “unexpected” qualifier, arrives via second place at the 2025 Grand Swiss.
Open contenders: Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri, Praggnanandhaa R, Wei Yi, Javokhir Sindarov, Andrey Esipenko, Matthias Bluebaum.
The Women’s Candidates: A Generational Clash In Paphos
The Women’s tournament is also bringing forth a clash of generations. Established title contenders and former champions alongside rising stars who qualified through the same unforgiving cycle of events.
At the top of the rating list is Zhu Jiner, who qualified by winning the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2024–25. Alongside her is Tan Zhongyi, a former Women’s World Champion (2017–2018), who qualified through third place at the 2025 Women’s World Cup. Aleksandra Goryachkina arrives as runner-up in the Women’s Grand Prix series.
The next generation is led by Divya Deshmukh, who qualified by winning the 2025 Women’s World Cup, and Vaishali R, who qualified by winning the 2025 Women’s Grand Swiss. The field also includes Kateryna Lagno (Grand Swiss runner-up) and Bibisara Assaubayeva. Anna Muzychuk enters as a late replacement, bringing a prominent elite experience to the lineup.
Women’s contenders: Anna Muzychuk, Zhu Jiner, Aleksandra Goryachkina, Tan Zhongyi, Vaishali R, Kateryna Lagno, Divya Deshmukh, Bibisara Assaubayeva.
Chess At Full Volume
The event is hardly a silent playing hall that the public watches from a distance. The organisers are building an exciting on-site programme designed to make the tournament legible, even to spectators who are not as experienced with chess notation.
A Fan Zone is hosted by Angelika Valkova, and on game days, two or three Candidates players are expected to join fans after their games. The tournament programme lists appearances including Viswanathan Anand, Nigel Short, Boris Gelfand, Victor Bologan, and Alexandra Kosteniuk.
As part of the programme, and an important initiative to include the next generation of players, 20 talented students from Limassol’s top three chess schools are invited to the tournament free of charge. Visits are planned for Round 1 (29 March) and Round 14 (15 April), with tiebreaks and closing scheduled on 16 April if required.
“Seeing the world’s best players compete at the highest level, up close and in real time, has a powerful impact, especially on young people. It helps turn chess from something abstract into something aspirational and tangible.”
said Dvorkovich.
That is not all. During the final week, Pafos Municipality and Pafos Chess Club are also hosting a parallel event, the 4th International Open Tournament (13–19 April), a nine-round classical Swiss with a €5,000 prize fund.
An Event Not To Be Missed
The FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 and FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament 2026 run from 28 March to 16 April 2026 at Cap St George’s Hotel & Resort in Peyia (Pegeia), Paphos District.
Full schedule, ticket information, and updates are available via the official Candidates site (candidates2026.fide.com) and the tournament “Road to the Crown” hub on FIDE’s website (fide.com). For those planning to play as well as watch, the parallel 4th International Open Tournament runs 13–19 April in Paphos.
