Meet The 2026 Candidates: Who Should You Root For?
If you're anything like me, then you're freaking out right now over the much-awaited 2026 Candidates Tournament. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. The question is not who will win… but who should you root for?
As I’m sure you know, the victor will take on the youngest chess world champion of all time: GM Gukesh Dommaraju. Luckily, I’m here to give you the lowdown on ALL of the candidates, so you can take your pick.
First off, let’s get the details in order. The tournament will run from March 29 to April 15, seeing eight players face off in a 14-round double round-robin, which means they’ll all play each other twice—once with each color. The event will take place in Pegeia, Cyprus, alongside the Women’s Candidates Tournament (yes, two Candidates Tournaments at the same time, so you need to find someone to root for there too).
Things are looking a little different this year, and you may notice that the 2024 runner-up GM Ding Liren is not competing. This is because, unlike the previous Candidates tournaments, there was no automatic spot offered to the runner-up of the 2024 FIDE World Championship match. On the other hand, four out of this year’s eight competitors are newcomers who have never competed in the Candidates tournament before, which begs the question: who is the favorite, who is the underdog, and who do you want to win?
- Fabiano Caruana
- Anish Giri
- Matthias Bluebaum
- Javokhir Sindarov
- Wei Yi
- Andrey Esipenko
- Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu
- Hikaru Nakamura
Fabiano Caruana
Rating: 2795
Age: 33
Country: United States of America
Experience: This is his sixth Candidates tournament
Style: Calculation king
Star sign: Leo
Fun fact: Caruana has a black and white cat (to perfectly match the chess pieces, of course)
Caruana is the only candidate to have won it before! Photo: Emelianova/Chess.com.
GM Fabiano Caruana is the most experienced Candidate, having already competed in five editions of the tournament and winning in 2018, becoming the first American challenger to the undisputed chess world championship since GM Bobby Fischer in 1972. In fact, Caruana has qualified for every Candidates tournament since 2016, making this his 10-year anniversary. Bring out the cake!
Although he didn’t beat GM Magnus Carlsen in the 2018 World Chess Championship match, Caruana is still a formidable opponent and one of the two rating favorites to win the event. He’s well-versed in what it takes to prepare for a tournament like this, as well as the psychological demands and the pressure of knowing you’re THAT close to being the chess world champion.
If you're looking for consistency and experience, Caruana is your Candidate.
Anish Giri
Rating: 2753
Age: 31
Country: The Netherlands
Experience: This is his fourth Candidates tournament
Style: Solid, safe
Star sign: Cancer
Fun fact: Giri is fluent in English, Dutch, and Russian, and says he speaks some Japanese, Nepali, and German
This may be Giri's best chance yet to reach the world championship. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.
GM Anish Giri is something of an artist. That is, he is anecdotally known in the chess world as a player who loves to draw. Of course, a draw is not a bad result... but it may not win you the Candidates tournament.
That said, the Candidates is more than a standard tournament. It is a psychological trial, and being a solid, consistent chess player can pay off under extreme pressure. Giri has the experience of three prior Candidates tournaments, but has never won one before. Could this be his year?
He would have to take a serious break from tweeting on X to fit in the opening preparation required to claim the title of chess world champion challenger, but maybe if his next post gets 1,000 retweets he could do it.
If you've ever tweeted "@ Grok, who will win the 2026 Candidates Tournament?" Giri is your candidate.
Matthias Bluebaum
Rating: 2698
Age: 28
Country: Germany
Experience: This is his first Candidates tournament
Style: Consistent, precise
Star sign: Aries
Fun fact: Bluebaum has a Masters Degree in mathematics (so he's calculating both on and off the board)
Bluebaum stayed calm in the final round of the Grand Swiss to clinch a spot in the Candidates. Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.
Perhaps the biggest unknown, GM Matthias Bluebaum qualified for the Candidates without a coach, or a second. He literally just showed up to the FIDE Grand Swiss, didn't lose a single game, and now here we are.
Having admitted he feels like an underdog in the Candidates, Bluebaum will surely recruit help in preparing for the biggest event of his chess career (so far).
When I was reading about Bluebaum, I couldn't help but think of second World Champion Emanuel Lasker. You may know him as the guy credited with the phrase "when you see a good move, look for a better one." Yeah, I thought that would ring a bell.
Okay, so hear me out: Lasker and Bluebaum are both German, both extremely strong chess players of their time, and both pursued further education in mathematics. All that's missing now is to see if Bluebaum can also become a chess world champion.
If you like underdogs, Bluebaum is your candidate.
Javokhir Sindarov
Rating: 2745
Age: 20
Country: Uzbekistan
Experience: This is his first Candidates tournament
Style: Solid, resilient
Star sign: Sagittarius
Fun fact: Sindarov’s (rumored) girlfriend, GM Bibisara Assaubayeva, is competing in the Women’s Candidates Tournament. The ultimate power couple.
A relieved Sindarov after winning the World Cup. Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.
Uzbekistan is having a huge chess moment right now, and GM Javokhir Sindarov is a big part of that. He's the youngest candidate this year, beating GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu by just a few months. Sindarov became a grandmaster at age 12, and is much younger than most of the competition. That being said, if he wins he'll still be challenging a world champion who is younger than him. We live in crazy times.
You may have noticed Sindarov isn't the only Sagittarius in this Candidates lineup; his birthday falls only one day before GM Hikaru Nakamura. Maybe the two could have a joint birthday party this year, if one of them isn't busy playing for the world championship title. Oh, and as a reminder, Sagittarius is the archer, a sign tied to prophecies that's known to never miss. Take that as you will.
If you like prodigies, Sindarov is your candidate.
Wei Yi
Rating: 2754
Age: 26
Country: China
Experience: This is his first Candidates tournament
Style: Aggressive, tactical
Star sign: Gemini
Fun fact: He likes listening to Taylor Swift
Everything I've learned about GM Wei Yi since binge-watching all of his interviews back to back makes me proud to say he's my personal candidate of choice. Not to be biased or anything. Definitely not biased over here. Writing an extremely neutral article right now.
Not only is Wei a fellow Gemini, but I think his Taylor Swift playlist can perhaps single-handedly get him through the psychological challenges of playing your first Candidates tournament. Loss? Shake It Off. Draw? Tolerate It. Win? MASTERMIND.
I tweeted asking for people's hottest takes on the Candidates, and it turns out a lot of people are rooting for Wei as a dark horse. I think there are a lot of exciting games to come from his more aggressive, active playing style—and despite this being his first Candidates Tournament, I think it's going to be a Love Story.
If you want a fun candidate, Wei is for you.
Andrey Esipenko
Rating: 2698
Age: 23
Country: FIDE
Experience: This is his first Candidates tournament
Style: Aggressive
Star sign: Aries
Fun fact: He’s a big soccer (or football) fan and supports Arsenal
Esipenko won the third place match in the World Cup to qualify for the Candidates. Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.
When people talk about GM Andrey Esipenko I think they sometimes forget that, when he was 17, he massacred then-World Champion GM Magnus Carlsen in their first head-to-head classical chess game at Tata Steel Masters 2021. This may be his first Candidates tournament, but I think he has what it takes to take down the favorites and score big points.
Esipenko has been known to play epic, aggressive chess, with early g4! pawn pushes and creativity that we love to see at the top level. He's also your first choice candidate if you're a soccer fan, unless you support one of the teams that is enemies with Arsenal. So, like, any other team I guess?
If you want to see fighting chess, Esipenko is your candidate.
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu
Rating: 2741
Age: 20
Country: India
Experience: This is his second Candidates tournament
Style: Intuitive, risk-taker
Star sign: Leo
Fun fact: Praggnanandhaa and his older sister, GM Vaishali Rameshbabu, are the first brother and sister to both qualify for the Candidates tournaments.
Praggnanandhaa at Norway Chess in 2024. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.
Sharing the Leo zodiac sign with Caruana, we have two cats who are at opposite ends of the experience spectrum. Pragg may be extremely young, but he has something Sindarov, Bluebaum, Esipenko and Wei don't: he's played the Candidates tournament before. He knows what to expect, and that can't be underestimated.
This year's event is also a family affair, as his older sister Vaishali is competing in the Women's Candidates tournament at the same time. Let me remind you that the rule is that if you root for Vaishali, you have to root for Pragg, and vice versa. Anything else is seriously bad karma.
If Pragg wins the Candidates, then we are guaranteed an Indian chess world champion in 2026, no matter how the championship match goes down. That would be huge, and would cement India as THE current global chess superpower.
If you want to see the first brother and sister pair of challengers at the same time, root for Pragg (and Vaishali!).
Hikaru Nakamura
Rating: 2810
Age: 38
Country: United States of America
Experience: This is his fourth Candidates Tournament
Style: Dynamic, sharp
Star sign: Sagittarius
Fun fact: Nakamura once beat MrBeast in a chess game with only a king and a queen versus an entire army.
He doesn't care if you root for him. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.
Last but by absolutely, certainly, indisputably no means least, we have GM Hikaru Nakamura. Did I mention he's the second highest rated player in the world? Nakamura has played three Candidates tournaments before, and it seems like nothing fazes him.
Alongside Caruana, Nakamura has to be one of the two favorites to win the event. This isn't up for debate. We know he has some of the world's best time management skills, excels rather than cracks under pressure, and has a dynamic style that allows him to play any position masterfully. I wouldn't blame you if you told me you were rooting for Nakamura; this is just another day at the office for him.
If you literally don't care, Nakamura is for you.
Okay, so you have all of the details now and can make an informed decision... which means I have done my job correctly and we can all sit back and enjoy the tournament coverage. But before you open the popcorn, I need to know who you chose as your winner. Do you like an underdog, or are you going to play it safe? Whoever you picked, let me know in the comments down below.
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