 "R Praggnanandhaa is currently the joint-leader in the London Chess Classic, which is part of the 2025 FIDE Circuit. Image: PTI")
Six out of eight spots for next year’s Candidates Tournament have been filled so far, and not a single one of those has gone to an Indian. Reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju will be defending his crown next year, and the dream of an all-Indian showdown for the most prestigious title in the sport looks increasingly unlikely at the moment.
Top Indian stars such as R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi and other Grandmasters including Aravindh Chithambaram, Vidit Gujrathi and Nihal Sarin had participated in the FIDE Grand Swiss as well as the World Cup over the last three months, the two events offering five out of eight spots.
And given India’s rise in chess over the last couple of years, with three Indians having competed in the previous Candidates Tournament in Toronto last year, at least a couple of them were expected to qualify for the next edition.
The Indian chess fraternity, however, has faced disappointment over the last couple of months with Arjun and ‘Pragg’ failing to secure a top-three finish at the Grand Swiss as well as at the World Cup.
What was especially disappointing was the fact that the latter had taken place on home turf – at Resort Rio in Arpora, Goa. And despite the support of the home crowd, only one Indian – Arjun – managed to reach the quarter-finals .
Praggnanandhaa remains India’s lone hope for Candidates 2026
Just two spots are left to fill as far as next year’s Candidates is concerned – the winner of the 2025 FIDE Circuit as well as the player with the Highest Average Rating between August 2025 and January 2026.
The latter is likely to be clinched by world No 2 Hikaru Nakamura, who has been competing in lower-rated tournamets back home in the US in order to maintain a winning run, with world No 1 Magnus Carlsen likely to back out of the world championship once again.
Praggnanandhaa, currently ranked seventh in the world, continues to lead the standings in the 2025 FIDE Circuit by a fair margin at the moment, thus keeping India’s hopes for the next Candidates alive. He currently sits at the top spot with 107 circuit points after competing in seven events, well ahead of Dutch GM Anish Giri who has collected 81.18 points in five events.
World No Fabiano Caruana, who had won the 2024 FIDE Circuit to become the first player to qualify for the 2026 Candidates, sits at the third spot with 65.55 points, meaning Giri’s the only player who’s likely to challenge Praggnanandhaa for the top spot. Arjun, who had finished six points behind Caruana in the 2024 FIDE Circuit, is out of contention at the 18th spot with just 34.41 points.
The 2025 FIDE Circuit began with the Tata Steel Chess in Wijk aan Zee , Netherlands in January and February, and has just three events left in December - President Cup “Masters” group, 2025 London Chess Classic Super Rapidplay and the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships 2025.
The Indian No 2 currently is competing in the London Chess Classic currently, where he has emerged as the joint-leader alongside Serbian GM Velimir Ivic, and will also be competing in the World Rapid and Blitz Championships in Doha later this month in both categories.
And the 20-year-old will be hoping to finish among the top three in London as well as in Doha to try and maintain his lead over Giri in order to keep his dream of challenging Gukesh for his world title alive.