Inside the Candidates 2026 in Cyprus 🇨🇾 | Behind the Scenes - Day 1

by Arne Kaehler
4/13/2026 – The ChessBase crew travels to Cyprus to cover the Candidates Tournament, bringing you daily impressions from one of the biggest events in chess. What is the atmosphere like around the world’s best players? How is the venue, and where do the stars spend their time? What happens behind the scenes in the media centre and beyond? And what is Cyprus like as a host for such a prestigious event? From travel moments and unexpected encounters to exclusive insights into the tournament environment, we take you along for the journey—day by day. Experience the Candidates from the inside.
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Inside the Candidates 2026 in Cyprus 🇨🇾 | Behind the Scenes

Day 1

The ChessBase crew sets off from Hamburg to Cyprus, chasing the final, decisive days of the Candidates Tournament, but before a single move is played, the journey already takes a strange turn.

At the luggage claim in Pafos, reality briefly slips into something surreal. Bags circle endlessly, people stare in mild confusion—and somehow, in the middle of it all, a pine cone becomes the center of attention. A quiet, almost absurd “heist” unfolds, while nearby, a conveyor belt seems to develop a personality of its own… swallowing luggage, refusing to give it back, as if testing who’s worthy to enter Cyprus.

Eventually, we escape the chaos and arrive at Cap St. Georges, and suddenly, everything changes. The noise fades. The stress dissolves.

What awaits is not just a tournament venue, but a five-star resort that feels almost unreal. The Mediterranean stretches endlessly into the horizon, the sun dips into golden light, and for a moment, it’s easy to forget that this is one of the most high-pressure events in chess. Here’s the strange truth: even those who won’t win the Candidates… have already won something.

We dive deeper into the heart of the event.
The media center is alive, voices, cameras, keyboards clattering, journalists from all over the world chasing stories, reactions, moments. Everyone senses it: Today could be a decisive day.

Then, the playing hall. Security everywhere. Every piece of tech has to stay outside. This is where dreams either break… or become history.

And finally, it comes down to the last game.

Anish Giri fights. He pushes. He searches for something to keep his chances alive. But Wei Yi holds. A draw.

And with that quiet result, the tension collapses into clarity.

Javokhir Sindarov.
Almost untouchable now.

<< Robert Ris' Fast and Furious: Queen's Gambit Declined
Women's Candidates R12: Zhu catches Vaishali by winning direct encounter >>
Topics: Candidates 2026, cyprus
Arne Kaehler, a creative mind who is passionate about board games in general, was born in Hamburg and learned to play chess at a young age. By teaching chess to youth teams and creating chess-related videos on YouTube, Arne was able to expand this passion and has even created an online course for anyone who wants to learn how to play chess. Arne writes for the English and German news sites, but focuses mainly on content for the ChessBase media channels.
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See also

Candidates R12: Head-to-head stats

4/12/2026 – Head-to-head records between the participants of the Candidates Tournaments provide useful context for each pairing. Drawing on data compiled via Mega Database 2026, the key statistics from past encounters highlight imbalances and trends. While such figures are not decisive, they offer an additional perspective on how rivalries have developed before a tournament that will determine the next challenger for the world title.

See also

Candidates R11: Head-to-head stats

4/11/2026 – Head-to-head records between the participants of the Candidates Tournaments provide useful context for each pairing. Drawing on data compiled via Mega Database 2026, the key statistics from past encounters highlight imbalances and trends. While such figures are not decisive, they offer an additional perspective on how rivalries have developed before a tournament that will determine the next challenger for the world title.

Video

60m The Two Knights

This entry into the 60 minutes series concentrates on the Modern variation of the Italian game where White opens the centre early : 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Nf6 4 d4 exd4 5 e5!. This line can be reached by various move orders, most frequently from the Scotch 3 d4 exd4 4 Bc4. It's a sharp variation and Grandmasters such as Evgeny Sveshnikov have used it frequently,with very good results. It's a perfect line for club players to adopt which is relatively easy to learn and which contains many traps. All the main responses are covered here, including 5...d5, 5...Ng4 and 5...Ne4 and the conclusion is that is is difficult for Black to equalize in a straightforward way. Problems are being posed, which over the board might prove tough to solve.