2/21/2026 – The pairings for the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 and the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 have been confirmed following the official Drawing of Lots ceremony in Paphos. Scheduled from 28 March to 16 April 2026, both events will determine the challengers for the World Championship titles, with round-one matchups now set and preparations entering their final phase.
new: Fritz 20
Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.
Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.
Which pieces are good, which are bad, and what can you do about it? Master this principle with this video course!
€39.90
Press release by FIDE
The pairings for the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 and the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 have been determined following the official Drawing of Lots ceremony held at the Cap St George's Hotel & Resort in Paphos, Cyprus, the host venue of both events.
The FIDE Candidates Tournaments, which will take place from 28 March to 16 April 2026, will determine the challengers for the World Championship and Women's World Championship titles. With the playing schedule now established, preparations enter their final phase as players begin targeted opening preparation and match strategy against their confirmed opponents.
The ceremony held at the Cap St George's Hotel & Resort brought together FIDE officials, representatives of the Cyprus Chess Federation, government authorities, partners and invited guests, marking the formal commencement of the Candidates stage of the World Championship cycle.
Doesn’t every chess game get decided by mistakes? Absolutely. But most players never truly comprehend that they are making the same kind of mistakes over and over again.
FIDE Vice President Georgios Makropoulos underlined the importance of hosting the event in Cyprus:
It is a very important decision to bring both the Open and Women's Candidates to Cyprus. I am sure the players will enjoy Paphos and the chess games here. Chess in Cyprus is developing rapidly, and this event will help it grow even further.
Cyprus Chess Federation President Criton Tornaritis then took to the stage and highlighted the significance of staging one of the world's premier chess events in the country and its inspiration for young players:
We have the Candidates now in Cyprus, one of the biggest events in world chess. I would like to thank FIDE for bringing such an important event to our country. Our main priority as a federation is to support children and develop chess in schools, and events like this inspire the next generation of players in Cyprus.
Constantinos Malaou | Photo: FIDE
Constantinos Malaou, the Business Development Director of Cap St George's Hotel & Resort, welcomed participants and emphasised Cyprus' place on the global chess map as the road to the World Championship begins:
The selection of Cyprus and of Cap St Georges by FIDE is a distinction of exceptional importance. It reflects international confidence in the standards, credibility and organisational excellence required to host an event of historic and global significance, and it places our country and our resort on the world chess map at the very moment when the world's attention turns to the road toward the crown.
Following the addresses by officials, attention turned to the highlight of the night, the drawing of lots.
FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026
The drawing procedure was conducted by Chief Arbiter Takis Nikolopoulos, who explained the double round-robin format and the role of Berger pairing tables in determining the full schedule once players receive their draw numbers. In line with standard practice in elite double round-robins, the Berger tables were adjusted by exchanging Rounds 6 and 7, ensuring that no player receives the same colour three times consecutively.
This video course includes GM Anish Giri's deep insights and IM Sagar Shah's pertinent questions to the super GM. In Vol.1 all the openings after 1.e4 are covered.
In accordance with FIDE regulations, players from the same federation must meet in the first rounds of the tournament. With two participants from the United States, Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura were assigned paired numbers to ensure they face each other in Round 1. The draw resulted in the following numbers:
Round-one pairings
The opening round already features several key clashes, including the all-American encounter between Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura, a matchup with deep Candidates history, and the two rating favourites of the event. Praggnanandhaa R – Giri brings together two of the most theoretically prepared and solid players in the field, while Sindarov – Esipenko pairs two of the youngest participants in a direct generational contest. Matthias Bluebaum and Wei Yi complete the round-one lineup in a meeting between two players making their Candidates debut. With colours reversed, the same pairings will be repeated in round eight, and the Berger tables schedule several decisive encounters late in the event.
FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2026
The women's draw required an additional preliminary step due to federation distribution: three players from India, two from China, and two representing FIDE.
Regulations require players from the same federation to meet in the early rounds. The drawing first determined the group of numbers assigned to the three Indian players, ensuring they would oppose each other within the first three rounds. Chinese players and those under the FIDE flag were then allocated paired numbers to meet in round one.
The final numbers are:
Round-one pairings
The first round in the FIDE Women's Candidates also presents several top-level encounters, many featuring players from the same federation. Zhu Jiner faces former Women's World Champion Tan Zhongyi, Aleksandra Goryachkina meets long-time rival Kateryna Lagno, and Vaishali R takes on Bibisara Assaubayeva in a matchup between two of the youngest players in the field. The round is completed by the meeting between Humpy Koneru and Divya Deshmukh, pairing one of the most experienced players in the tournament with one of its newest participants.
With the draw completed, the competitive framework of both FIDE Candidates Tournaments is now fixed. Over fourteen rounds in Cyprus, each player will face every opponent twice, once with each colour, in the most demanding and balanced format in elite chess.
For the participants, the announcement of pairings marks a decisive shift in preparation. Opening repertoires, rest-day planning and strategic approaches are refined months in advance based on the confirmed sequence of opponents.
In this video course, experts (Pelletier, Marin, Müller and Reeh) examine the games of Judit Polgar. Let them show you which openings Polgar chose to play, where her strength in middlegames were, or how she outplayed her opponents in the endgame.
Round 1 on 2026/03/29 at 15:30
Javokhir Sindarov – Andrey Esipenko Matthias Bluebaum – Wei Yi Praggnanandhaa R – Anish Giri Fabiano Caruana – Hikaru Nakamura
Round 2 on 2026/03/30 at 15:30
Andrey Esipenko – Hikaru Nakamura Anish Giri – Fabiano Caruana Wei Yi – Praggnanandhaa R Javokhir Sindarov – Matthias Bluebaum
Round 3 on 2026/03/31 at 15:30
Matthias Bluebaum – Andrey Esipenko Praggnanandhaa R – Javokhir Sindarov Fabiano Caruana – Wei Yi Hikaru Nakamura – Anish Giri
Round 4 on 2026/04/01 at 15:30
Andrey Esipenko – Anish Giri Wei Yi – Hikaru Nakamura Javokhir Sindarov – Fabiano Caruana Matthias Bluebaum – Praggnanandhaa R
Round 5 on 2026/04/03 at 15:30
Praggnanandhaa R – Andrey Esipenko Fabiano Caruana – Matthias Bluebaum Hikaru Nakamura – Javokhir Sindarov Anish Giri – Wei Yi
Round 6 on 2026/04/04 at 15:30
Fabiano Caruana – Andrey Esipenko Hikaru Nakamura – Praggnanandhaa R Anish Giri – Matthias Bluebaum Wei Yi – Javokhir Sindarov
Round 7 on 2026/04/05 at 15:30
Andrey Esipenko – Wei Yi Javokhir Sindarov – Anish Giri Matthias Bluebaum – Hikaru Nakamura Praggnanandhaa R – Fabiano Caruana
Round 8 on 2026/04/07 at 15:30
Andrey Esipenko – Javokhir Sindarov Wei Yi – Matthias Bluebaum Anish Giri – Praggnanandhaa R Hikaru Nakamura – Fabiano Caruana
Round 9 on 2026/04/08 at 15:30
Hikaru Nakamura – Andrey Esipenko Fabiano Caruana – Anish Giri Praggnanandhaa R – Wei Yi Matthias Bluebaum – Javokhir Sindarov
Round 10 on 2026/04/09 at 15:30
Andrey Esipenko – Matthias Bluebaum Javokhir Sindarov – Praggnanandhaa R Wei Yi – Fabiano Caruana Anish Giri – Hikaru Nakamura
Round 11 on 2026/04/11 at 15:30
Anish Giri – Andrey Esipenko Hikaru Nakamura – Wei Yi Fabiano Caruana – Javokhir Sindarov Praggnanandhaa R – Matthias Bluebaum
Round 12 on 2026/04/12 at 15:30
Andrey Esipenko – Praggnanandhaa R Matthias Bluebaum – Fabiano Caruana Javokhir Sindarov – Hikaru Nakamura Wei Yi – Anish Giri
Round 13 on 2026/04/14 at 15:30
Wei Yi – Andrey Esipenko Anish Giri – Javokhir Sindarov Hikaru Nakamura – Matthias Bluebaum Fabiano Caruana – Praggnanandhaa R
Round 14 on 2026/04/15 at 15:30
Andrey Esipenko – Fabiano Caruana Praggnanandhaa R – Hikaru Nakamura Matthias Bluebaum – Anish Giri Javokhir Sindarov – Wei Yi
In this Video-Course we deal with different dynamic decisions involving pawns. The aim of this Course is to arm club/tournament players with fresh ideas which they can use in their own practice.
Round 1 on 2026/03/29 at 15:30
Divya Deshmukh – Humpy Koneru Vaishali R – Bibisara Assaubayeva Aleksandra Goryachkina – Kateryna Lagno Zhu Jiner – Tan Zhongyi
Round 2 on 2026/03/30 at 15:30
Humpy Koneru – Tan Zhongyi Kateryna Lagno – Zhu Jiner Bibisara Assaubayeva – Aleksandra Goryachkina Divya Deshmukh – Vaishali R
Round 3 on 2026/03/31 at 15:30
Vaishali R – Humpy Koneru Aleksandra Goryachkina – Divya Deshmukh Zhu Jiner – Bibisara Assaubayeva Tan Zhongyi – Kateryna Lagno
Round 4 on 2026/04/01 at 15:30
Humpy Koneru – Kateryna Lagno Bibisara Assaubayeva – Tan Zhongyi Divya Deshmukh – Zhu Jiner Vaishali R – Aleksandra Goryachkina
Round 5 on 2026/04/03 at 15:30
Aleksandra Goryachkina – Humpy Koneru Zhu Jiner – Vaishali R Tan Zhongyi – Divya Deshmukh Kateryna Lagno – Bibisara Assaubayeva
Round 6 on 2026/04/04 at 15:30
Zhu Jiner – Humpy Koneru Tan Zhongyi – Aleksandra Goryachkina Kateryna Lagno – Vaishali R Bibisara Assaubayeva – Divya Deshmukh
Round 7 on 2026/04/05 at 15:30
Humpy Koneru – Bibisara Assaubayeva Divya Deshmukh – Kateryna Lagno Vaishali R – Tan Zhongyi Aleksandra Goryachkina – Zhu Jiner
Round 8 on 2026/04/07 at 15:30
Humpy Koneru – Divya Deshmukh Bibisara Assaubayeva – Vaishali R Kateryna Lagno – Aleksandra Goryachkina Tan Zhongyi – Zhu Jiner
Round 9 on 2026/04/08 at 15:30
Tan Zhongyi – Humpy Koneru Zhu Jiner – Kateryna Lagno Aleksandra Goryachkina – Bibisara Assaubayeva Vaishali R – Divya Deshmukh
Round 10 on 2026/04/09 at 15:30
Humpy Koneru – Vaishali R Divya Deshmukh – Aleksandra Goryachkina Bibisara Assaubayeva – Zhu Jiner Kateryna Lagno – Tan Zhongyi
Round 11 on 2026/04/11 at 15:30
Kateryna Lagno – Humpy Koneru Tan Zhongyi – Bibisara Assaubayeva Zhu Jiner – Divya Deshmukh Aleksandra Goryachkina – Vaishali R
Round 12 on 2026/04/12 at 15:30
Humpy Koneru – Aleksandra Goryachkina Vaishali R – Zhu Jiner Divya Deshmukh – Tan Zhongyi Bibisara Assaubayeva – Kateryna Lagno
Round 13 on 2026/04/14 at 15:30
Bibisara Assaubayeva – Humpy Koneru Kateryna Lagno – Divya Deshmukh Tan Zhongyi – Vaishali R Zhu Jiner – Aleksandra Goryachkina
Round 14 on 2026/04/15 at 15:30
Humpy Koneru – Zhu Jiner Aleksandra Goryachkina – Tan Zhongyi Vaishali R – Kateryna Lagno Divya Deshmukh – Bibisara Assaubayeva
From late March, the world's attention will turn to Paphos, where sixteen of the strongest players in the world will compete for the right to challenge for the highest titles in chess.
The FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 and FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 will be held from 28 March to 16 April at the Cap St George's Hotel & Resort, Cyprus.
Two tournaments will be held side by side – the (Open) FIDE Candidates Tournament and the FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament.
Format: In both the Open and the Women's, the eight qualified players will compete in a double round-robin tournament, consisting of 14 rounds.
Time control: The games will be played with a time control of 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 41.
Prize fund: The minimum prize fund for the event stands at a record €1,000,000.
Tiebreaks: In the event of a tie for first place after 14 rounds, a playoff will be played to determine the winner who qualifies for the World Championship Match, due to take place in November 2026.
Regulations for the FIDE Candidates 2026 can be found below:
EXPAND YOUR CHESS HORIZONS Data, plans, practice – the new Opening Report In ChessBase there are always attempts to show the typical plans of an opening variation. In the age of engines, chess is much more concrete than previously thought. But amateurs in particular love openings with clear plans, see the London System. In ChessBase ’26, three functions deal with the display of plans. The new opening report examines which piece moves or pawn advances are significant for each important variation. In the reference search you can now see on the board where the pieces usually go. If you start the new Monte Carlo analysis, the board also shows the most common figure paths.
2/4/2026 – FIDE traces the history of the Candidates Tournament, the event that determines who earns the right to challenge for the world chess title. Established in 1950 to replace earlier informal arrangements, the Candidates has evolved through different formats and eras, reflecting changes in the championship cycle. From Budapest to recent editions in major cities, the tournament has remained the decisive stage in the path to a world title match, with Cyprus set to host the next chapter. | Image: FIDE
12/18/2025 – The race for qualification in the FIDE Women's Events 2024–2025 is nearing its conclusion, with seven places in the Women's Candidates 2026 already decided. One final spot remains open, setting up a close contest ahead of the Women's Rapid and Blitz Championships in Qatar. Bibisara Assaubayeva currently leads the chase, but several experienced and emerging players remain within reach, ensuring a tense finish to the two-year qualification cycle.
In almost every chess game there comes a moment when you just can’t go on without tactics. You must strike to not giving away the advantage you have worked for the whole game.
Opening videos: Daniel King presents new ideas against Caro-Kann with 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+. ‘Mikhalchishin's Miniatures’: Najdorf, Petroff and Scotch. ‘Move by Move’ with Robert Ris. ‘Lucky bag’ with 37 analyses by Ganguly, Illingworth et al.
Instead of forcing you to memorise endless lines, Raja focuses on clear plans, typical ideas, and attacking motifs that you can apply in your own games without delay. A short, focused, and practical repertoire.
FIDE World Cup 2025 with analyses by Adams, Bluebaum, Donchenko, Shankland, Wei Yi and many more. Opening videos by Blohberger, King and Marin. 11 exciting opening articles with new repertoire ideas and much more.
I am FRITZ, and I have been redefining the world of chess for over 30 years.
€19.99
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.
Pop-up for detailed settings
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies, analysis cookies and marketing cookies. You can decide which cookies to use by selecting the appropriate options below. Please note that your selection may affect the functionality of the service. Further information can be found in our privacy policy.
Technically required cookies
Technically required cookies: so that you can navigate and use the basic functions and store preferences.
Analysis Cookies
To help us determine how visitors interact with our website to improve the user experience.
Marketing-Cookies
To help us offer and evaluate relevant content and interesting and appropriate advertisement.
