Candidates 2026: Everything You Need to Know - Format, Schedule, How to Watch
The 2026 Candidates Tournament is underway in Paphos, Cyprus. Eight grandmasters, 14 rounds of classical chess, and one prize that matters: the right to challenge World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju for the title.
Here's everything you need to know to follow along.
What is the Candidates Tournament?
The Candidates is the final qualifying stage of the World Chess Championship cycle. It determines who gets to play the reigning world champion in a title match. It's widely considered the toughest tournament in chess because winning requires consistency over weeks, not just one good day.
The winner of this tournament will face Gukesh Dommaraju, who became the youngest world champion in history in 2024 at age 18.
Format
Double round-robin. Every player plays every other player twice: once with white, once with black. That's 14 rounds total. No rest days between some rounds, which means fatigue becomes a real factor.
The player with the most points wins. If there's a tie at the top after 14 rounds, tiebreak games are played on April 16.
Scoring: Win = 1 point, Draw = 0.5 points, Loss = 0 points.
The 8 Players
| # | Player | Rating | Country | |---|--------|--------|---------| | 1 | Hikaru Nakamura | 2810 | USA | | 2 | Fabiano Caruana | 2795 | USA | | 3 | Wei Yi | 2754 | China | | 4 | Anish Giri | 2753 | Netherlands | | 5 | Javokhir Sindarov | 2745 | Uzbekistan | | 6 | R. Praggnanandhaa | 2741 | India | | 7 | Andrey Esipenko | 2698 | FIDE | | 8 | Matthias Bluebaum | 2698 | Germany |
For detailed player profiles and our predictions on each contender, see our full preview. For the underdog stories of the tournament, read about Sindarov and Bluebaum's unlikely paths.
Schedule
The tournament runs from March 29 to April 15, 2026, with tiebreaks on April 16 if needed. Games start at 14:30 CET (8:30 AM Eastern, 6:00 PM IST) each playing day.
There are rest days built in, but the schedule is demanding. By the final rounds, fatigue and nerves play as big a role as preparation.
How to Watch
Multiple platforms are streaming every game with expert commentary:
- Chess.com (YouTube/Twitch) - Commentary by GM Judit Polgar, GM David Howell, and GM Benjamin Bok
- Chess24 (YouTube/Twitch) - Expert analysis team
- FIDE YouTube - Official broadcast
- Saint Louis Chess Club (YouTube) - Follow Nakamura and Caruana with US-focused coverage
- Hikaru on Kick - Nakamura is doing personal recaps during the tournament
- GM Daniel King (YouTube/ChessBase) - Daily game highlights and analysis
Watch every Candidates game live on Chess.com with GM commentary and real-time engine analysis.Play on Chess.com
What's at Stake
The winner earns the right to challenge Gukesh for the World Championship title, likely later in 2026. Beyond the title shot, there's significant prize money and the prestige of winning what many consider the hardest tournament in chess.
For several players, the stakes are even more personal:
- Nakamura (37) knows this is likely his last shot at a world title match
- Caruana wants redemption after coming agonizingly close against Carlsen in 2018
- Praggnanandhaa could become the youngest Candidates winner ever
- Sindarov and Bluebaum are both underdogs with nothing to lose
Meanwhile, Kasparov has questioned whether any of this even matters without Magnus. The players on stage in Cyprus would disagree.
Quick FAQ
How long does each game last? Classical time control means games can run 4-6 hours. Some finish in under 2 hours if there's an early draw agreement or a quick tactical knockout.
What rating do these players have? All eight players are rated above 2698 FIDE, putting them in roughly the top 0.01% of all chess players. The gap between their level and even a strong club player is enormous.
Can I play along? Absolutely. Follow the games on Chess.com or Lichess, try to guess the next move before the players play it, and compare your ideas with the engine evaluation. It's the best way to learn from elite chess.
Who's the favorite? Check our full predictions and odds breakdown for our take on who's most likely to win.