After a last-minute effort and a rush to London for the open section of the London Classic tournament, India’s R Praggnanandhaa has earned a place in the eight-man Candidates tournament. He is now the only Indian participant in this prestigious event, which is aimed at determining the challenger for the world champion title.
The 2026 Open Candidates event will feature only one Indian participant, a disappointing decrease from the three—Pragg, Gukesh, and Vidit Gujrathi—who took part in the 2024 Candidates in Toronto. In contrast, the accompanying Women’s Candidates event in Cyprus, scheduled from March 28 to April 16 next year, will see three Indian women competing: Divya Deshmukh, Koneru Humpy, and Vaishali Rameshbabu.
Praggnanandhaa secured his qualification for the elite chess event through the FIDE Circuit, a situation that became competitive following Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov’s participation in the London Classic. Praggnanandhaa’s performance at the London event, where he tied for first place with a score of 7/9, earned him 8.17 circuit points, thereby extending his lead over Abdusattorov, who garnered 19.62 points for winning his section in London. Currently, Praggnanandhaa leads with 115.17 points on the FIDE Circuit leaderboard, significantly ahead of Abdusattorov’s 71.61 points. Anish Giri, in second place, has already qualified through the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament. This win effectively means that even if Abdusattorov were to triumph in both the upcoming FIDE World Rapid Championship and FIDE Blitz Championship, he would still be unable to surpass Praggnanandhaa’s points total.
Pragg, originally not scheduled to participate in the London event, entered last minute following his elimination in the fourth round of the FIDE World Cup in Goa by Daniil Dubov. Since all spots for the elite invitational event were filled when he made his decision, he could only compete in the open event. This choice carried inherent risks, as even a draw against a lower-rated opponent could negatively impact his rating points, but it was a necessary gamble for him to undertake.
Pragg expressed gratitude for his supporters and highlighted his achievement of qualifying for the 2026 Candidates after a challenging year on the FIDE Circuit, as noted in a post on his X account.
Praggnanandhaa has had a significant start to 2025, winning the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee. Additionally, he has secured titles in major tournaments such as the Superbet Chess Classic in Romania, the UzChess Cup Masters, and the London Chess Classic Open. At only 20 years old, he currently holds the rank of No 7 globally. His performance also includes a second-place finish at the Stepan Avagyan Memorial tournament and a 12th place at the Sinquefield Cup.
Praggnanandhaa has qualified for the eight-player Candidates tournament, joining notable players including Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Anish Giri, Matthias Bluebaum, Javokhir Sindarov, Wei Yi, and Andrey Esipenko. This tournament will determine the challenger for Gukesh Domaraju in the upcoming world chess championship.
