Press release
The drawing of lots for the Candidates Tournament was held in the Russian Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation, with the presence of the newly appointed Minister of Sports, Oleg Matytsin, the FIDE President, Arkady Dvorkovich, and the famed tennis player Anastasia Myskina (winner of Roland Garros 2004). Also present was the legendary chess coach Anatoly Bykhovsky.
The participants of the competition received the following numbers:
- Teimour Radjabov
- Ding Liren
- Anish Giri
- Alexander Grischuk
- Kirill Alekseenko
- Ian Nepomniachtchi
- Wang Hao
- Fabiano Caruana
Oleg Matytsin: “Before we started this ceremony we discussed with Anastasia Myskina that a lot of great sports are called “chess in motion”: football is “chess in motion”, tennis also, but the great game of chess is always there as the game itself and the best chess players are admired all over the world. Russia is known for its chess traditions, and we’re happy to host such a great tournament. We can guarantee that the organizational level will be top-notch as always for the events hosted by Russia.”

Oleg Matytsin, Anastasia Myskina and Arkady Dvorkovich | Photo: Eteri Kublashvili (CFR)
Arkady Dvorkovich: “We’re glad that Russia, the long-time partner of FIDE, is hosting the Candidates event, the key leg of the world championship cycle. There will be players from China, Azerbaijan, Netherlands, USA, and Russia. We welcome all chess lovers to visit Yekaterinburg or to follow this amazing event online”. The FIDE President also expressed gratitude to the general sponsor of the Candidates tournament, the company Sima-Land.
The FIDE Candidates 2020 will take place in Yekaterinburg, Russia from March 15th until April 5th. Eight top grandmasters will contest in a double round-robin tournament for the right to challenge the current World Champion Magnus Carlsen (Norway).
FIDE Candidates Tournament 2020 pairings
Round 1 (March 17, 2020)Radjabov – Caruana
Ding Liren - Wang Hao
Giri - Nepomniachtchi
Grischuk - Alekseenko
Round 02 (March 18, 2020)Caruana – Alekseenko
Nepomniachtchi - Grischuk
Wang Hao - Giri
Radjabov – Ding Liren
Round 03 (March 19, 2020)Ding Liren - Caruana
Giri - Radjabov
Grischuk - Wang Hao
Alekseenko - Nepomniachtchi
Round 04 (March 21, 2020)Caruana - Nepomniachtchi
Wang Hao - Alekseenko
Radjabov - Grischuk
Ding Liren - Giri
Round 05 (March 22, 2020)Giri - Caruana
Grischuk - Ding Liren
Alekseenko – Radjabov
Nepomniachtchi - Wang Hao
Round 06 (March 23, 2020)Grischuk - Caruana
Alekseenko - Giri
Nepomniachtchi - Ding Liren
Wang Hao - Radjabov
Round 07 (March 25, 2020)Caruana - Wang
Hao Radjabov - Nepomniachtchi
Ding Liren - Alekseenko
Giri - Grischuk
Round 08 (March 26, 2020)
Caruana - Radjabov
Wang Hao - Ding Liren
Nepomniachtchi - Giri
Alekseenko - Grischuk
Round 09 (March 27, 2020)
Alekseenko - Caruana
Grischuk - Nepomniachtchi
Giri - Wang Hao
Ding Liren - Radjabov
Round 10 (March 29, 2020)
Caruana - Ding Liren
Radjabov - Giri
Wang Hao - Grischuk
Nepomniachtchi - Alekseenko
Round 11 (March 30, 2020)
Nepomniachtchi - Caruana
Alekseenko - Wang Hao
Grischuk - Radjabov
Giri - Ding Liren
Round 12 (March 31, 2020)
Caruana - Giri
Ding Liren - Grischuk
Radjabov - Alekseenko
Wang Hao - Nepomniachtchi
Round 13 (April 02, 2020)
Wang Hao - Caruana
Nepomniachtchi - Radjabov
Alekseenko - Ding Liren
Grischuk - Giri
Round 14 (April 03, 2020)
Caruana - Grischuk
Giri - Alekseenko
Ding Liren - Nepomniachtchi
Radjabov - Wang Hao

An attractive chess set (though not an offical one) | Photo: Dmitry Zharkov
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