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Esipenko Grabs Last Candidates Spot, Final Goes To Tiebreaks
Andrey Esipenko takes the final spot in the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament. Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.

Esipenko Grabs Last Candidates Spot, Final Goes To Tiebreaks

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Colin_McGourty
| 41 | Chess Event Coverage

GM Andrey Esipenko has snatched the final spot in the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament after beating GM Nodirbek Yakubboev 2-0 to take third place in the 2025 FIDE World Cup. Yakubboev had to win on demand, but blundered into a crushing line where it would have been a struggle even to survive. The World Cup isn't over, however, as GM Wei Yi made a quick draw against GM Javokhir Sindarov that means the $120,000 winner will be decided in tiebreaks on Wednesday. 

The final tiebreaks start on Wednesday, November 26, at 4:30 a.m. ET / 10:30 CET / 3 p.m. IST.

2025 FIDE World Cup Finals Results

Esipenko has clinched third place and a $60,000 prize, while Yakubboev takes fourth and $50,000. The final is level and the winner of the World Cup will be decided in tiebreaks.

Games, Results, and Bracket.

Wei Yi 1-1 Sindarov

With the trophy on the line, the players decided to delay the drama until tiebreaks! Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.

Wei had missed a chance in the first game of the World Cup final with Black, and the big question was whether he'd push hard to win with White in the second game. The answer to that question came early, as the opening moves of the game—a Spanish Four Knights—left a draw by far the most likely outcome.

There had been a couple of wins in the quiet endgame that arose, but it was clear neither player was in the mood to hunt out nuances and go for a long squeeze. Instead it was all over in under 25 minutes, with the main task for the players being to reach move 30, when draw offers are allowed.

"They came, they saw, they drew!" was an apt summary by GM Arturs Neiksans.

Nothing of note had occurred on the board.

Can Wei Yi become the first Chinese World Cup winner, or will Sindarov be the youngest ever winner? Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.

The quick draw wasn't welcomed everywhere...

...but from an entertainment point of view it's hard to regret getting one last set of tiebreaks to end this year's World Cup. At stake will be the trophy and the $35,000 difference in prize money between $120,000 for the winner and $85,000 for second place.

Yakubboev 0-2 Esipenko

Esipenko emerged from the opening with a winning advantage. Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE.

There was never going to be a quick draw in the third-place match, since Yakubboev had lost the first game and had to try and hit back on demand. He went for a Catalan-style position, but was surprised early on by Esipenko and then made a decision that almost left GM Judit Polgar in tears, while Neiksans was speechless!

It wasn't just giving up the fianchettoed bishop in a position where 11.Nc3! was very playable, but that the computer evaluation instantly gave White as close to lost. It didn't take long until we discovered why, since after exchanges on d5 Esipenko unleashed 12...b5!, a match-winning blow. 

The rook on a8 couldn't be taken without the queen getting trapped by ...Bb7 and ...Nc6. Yakubboev tried to play on as if nothing had happened with 13.Nf3, but with the bishop anyway coming to b7 Black had an overwhelming position.

It was still complex, and White was a pawn up, so that there was absolutely no reason for Yakubboev to give up the fight, but it was a hopeless task and Esipenko went on to clinch victory in style, with 24...Nc1! the moment it was absolutely clear it was over.

Yakubboev decided to play on a few moves to force Esipenko to show the winning idea of 25...Rxd2+ and 26...Qe2, threatening checkmate. When he did, Yakubboev finally resigned.

Esipenko said afterward:

I'm extremely happy, this is probably the best moment in my chess career, but I am so exhausted! I played 30 games in this tournament, so I really wanted it to be over finally. It's nice to get what I wanted!

This is probably the best moment in my chess career!

—Andrey Esipenko

That's our Game of the Day, which GM Dejan Bojkov analyzes below.


It wasn't, of course, just that Esipenko had taken third place. Much more important was that he clinched the final spot in the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament, which will, almost certainly, now look as follows.

2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament

# Player FED Age Rating (Nov 25) World Rank Qualified Via
1 Fabiano Caruana 33 2795 3 2024 FIDE Circuit (Winner)
2 Anish Giri 31 2769 5 Grand Swiss (Winner)
3 Matthias Bluebaum 28 2680 43 Grand Swiss (Runner-Up)
4 Javokhir Sindarov 19 2721 25 World Cup (Finalist)
5 Wei Yi 26 2752 11 World Cup (Finalist)
6 Andrey Esipenko 23 2681 41 World Cup (3rd Place)
7 Praggnanandhaa *  20 2768 7 2025 FIDE Circuit (Winner)
8 Hikaru Nakamura * 37 2813 2 Rating

* still to be confirmed

Predictions have already begun! 

The Candidates drama was the main storyline of the World Cup, but now we can turn completely to deciding the winner on Wednesday. Whatever happens, it's going to be our final day in Goa! 

How to watch?
You can watch the event on Chess.com/TV. You can also enjoy the show on Chess24, on Twitch, or YouTube. Games from the event can be viewed on our events page.

The live broadcast was hosted by GMs Judit Polgar and Arturs Neiksans.

The 2025 FIDE World Cup, which takes place from November 1 to 26 in Goa, India, determines three spots in the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament. It is a 206-player single-elimination knockout tournament with eight rounds. Each match consists of two classical games followed by rapid and blitz tiebreaks if needed. The prize fund is $2 million.

Previous reports:

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Colin McGourty

Colin McGourty led news at Chess24 from its launch until it merged with Chess.com a decade later. An amateur player, he got into chess writing when he set up the website Chess in Translation after previously studying Slavic languages and literature in St. Andrews, Odesa, Oxford, and Krakow.

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