2026 candidates
Ok boys, we have yet another candidates tournament ahead of us. Subjectively, the most interesting chess spectator event in the world.
- Opening ceremony on 28 March.
- Matches will take place 29 March - 15/16 April
8 players battling, one world championship challenger will emerge.
Qualifiers below:
Name (qualification method) - current live rating
Caruana (2024 fide circuit) - 2793
Giri (2025 fide grand swiss) - 2752
Blubaum (2025 fide grand swiss) - 2684
Sindarov (2025 fide world cup) - 2745
Yi (2025 fide world cup) - 2754
Esipenko (2025 fide world cup) - 2698
Praggnanandhaa (2025 fide circuit) - 2741
Nakamura (highest avg rating) - 2810
Link to wiki for more info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candidates...
Betting odds from Bwin:
Please feel free to post links/screenshots from other betting providers.
Thread was created primarily to discuss the event, secondarily for me to find some small action.
I am open to smaller bets for fun, just like during the last candidates tournament, up to 5k EUR this year, if we can figure out deals (Bwin odds do not reflect my offers and will need to be discussed privately. I think the lines are set quite incorrectly fwiw).
Link to my 2024 candidates thread:
https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/140/c...
Spoiler
Yes, I do think this is the weakest candidates tournament lineup ever assembled
It appears there will be a new World Champion this year unless Gukesh can figure a way out of his slump.
We appear to be in an interregnum just like the one that occurred between Garry Chess and Cagnus Marlson.
Naka will win Candidates
Spoiler
and not care
i like wei yi and fabi this time
What's the best place to watch this?
the best is svidler and jan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGON0E0e.... (also sounds like vishy is on)
Awesome, thanks. Love me some Svidler analysis.
I really hope Fabi wins it and then takes the WCC title. With Carlsen out of the picture he truly deserves it, guy has been a solid #2 player for most of the last decade.
Spoiler
He will probably find a way to mess it up in the last round though :-(
Pragg could be fun. I really liked how he played and beat Giri in round 1. Grand Prix vs sicilian+d6 is not a bad opening choice at all!
Fabi winning it would remind me of Anand. Not dominant, but would be able to hold the title without crumbling.
This Javokhir guy is really making a name for himself
he was expertly prepared (who the **** outprepares Fabi???) and also really lucky -- he had reviewed that exact line like 10 minutes before the game or something lol
Who needs prep? Anna Muzychuk, the last minute replacement candidate has taken the lead for now with her victory over her rival Lagno. Would be something if she takes the whole enchilada. :-)
Yeah, on the men's side Sindarov looking strong after round 4, defeating Fabi.
Sindarov plays with such confidence, it's a marvel to watch. Haven't seen anything like it since Bobby Fischer.
Holy cow! Sindarov just took out Naka. He's downed the world's #2 and #3. Uzbeks (Nordirbek too) are on a roll.
Sindarov's results are completely insane. Did anyone ever have 5.5 points after first 6 rounds in the candidates? His tournament performance rating must be like 3250+ right?
Any chance there is something funny going on? I would have laid like 25:1 vs him winning the tournament ��
He's a real Sinda-rella story
3150 perf rating. He could reach 2800 ELO by end of the event!
Gukesh might lose every single game in a match vs him!
My god how does fabi manage to mess it up every freakin time.
Sindarov's results are completely insane. Did anyone ever have 5.5 points after the first 6 rounds in the candidates? His tournament performance rating must be like 3250+, right?
Any chance there is something funny going on? I would have laid like 25:1 vs him winning the tournament ��
Very talented, only up to par with Fabi
younger, sharper and more aggressive
--------
from losing to drawing to winning in the first game
Then his team did the obvious
- Connect AI with Stockfish and the chess database
- Get eval bars vs 2700's and not 3800's
- Playing d4 that over the years has proven to be better vs humans
- Play a novelty on move 7/8 - 1 hour extra on the clock - already playing for a win or a draw after move 10
- that shows when he's playing black
It's by a long, long margin, the biggest out prep in the past 25 years
His performance of 3200 and 0%! chance he's cheating, it's only possible by using unexplored lines
- for example, realising that a sideline from the QGD is -0.1 for white means that it will never be explored + possibly getting an eval bar vs 2700s of +0.5, it's deadly
Surprised no one got even close to his open prep. This means that he's playing with an extra tool, not cheating
