The 2026 Candidates Tournament lineup is starting to take shape. After Fabiano Caruana qualified earlier through the FIDE Circuit, two more names have now been added: Anish Giri and Matthias Bluebaum.
The Latest Results
The FIDE Grand Swiss 2025, held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, decided two more seats. Giri won the tournament with 8/11, beating Hans Niemann in the final round. It’s the Dutch grandmaster’s third time qualifying for the Candidates after 2016 and 2020–21.
Bluebaum finished half a point behind on 7.5, tying with Alireza Firouzja and Vincent Keymer. Thanks to a higher tiebreak—his opponents’ average Elo of 2,695—the German grandmaster secured the second Candidates spot.
Records That Mattered
- Anish Giri: +5 score, five wins (including Niemann in the final round) and six draws.
- Matthias Bluebaum: +4 score, with key victories over Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi, two of the world’s top five players.
Who’s Already In?
So far, three of the eight seats for 2026 are filled:
- Fabiano Caruana – Winner of the 2024 FIDE Circuit.
- Anish Giri – Winner of the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss.
- Matthias Bluebaum – Second place at the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss.
What’s Still Open
Five spots remain:
- 2025 FIDE World Cup (3 spots) – A knockout event in Goa, India, from January to November 2025.
- 2025 FIDE Circuit Winner (1 spot) – Currently led by Praggnanandhaa.
- Highest Six-Month Average Rating (1 spot) – Likely to go to Hikaru Nakamura, though Magnus Carlsen would qualify if he returned.
Why This Matters
The Candidates is the only path to the World Championship. The winner of the 2026 Candidates will face reigning champion Gukesh Dommaraju in a 14-game match for the most prestigious title in chess.
With Caruana, Giri, and now Bluebaum confirmed, the field is already shaping up as a clash of experience and rising strength. The next wave of qualifiers will come from the World Cup in Goa.
👉 For a step-by-step guide to how the Candidates system works, read our full explainer here.
Rewatch the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss
I’m Xuan Binh, the founder of Attacking Chess, and the Deputy Head of Communications at the Vietnam Chess Federation (VCF). My chess.com and lichess rating is above 2300. Send me a challenge or message via Lichess. Follow me on Twitter (X).
