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World Chess Championship 2026

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Not to be confused with Total Chess World Championship 2026.
World Chess Championship 2026
23 November – 17 December 2026
 
Defending champion
Challenger
 
  India Gukesh Dommaraju Uzbekistan Javokhir Sindarov
  Born 29 May 2006
20 years old		 Born 8 December 2005
20/21 years old
  Winner of the World Chess Championship 2024 Winner of the Candidates Tournament 2026
← 2024
2028 →

The World Chess Championship 2026 is an upcoming chess match to determine the World Chess Champion. It will be played between the defending champion Gukesh Dommaraju and the challenger, Javokhir Sindarov, the winner of the Candidates Tournament 2026. The Championship is provisionally scheduled between 23 November and 17 December 2026, while the host city is yet to be decided.

Candidates Tournament

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Main article: Candidates Tournament 2026

The challenger, Javokhir Sindarov, qualified by winning the Candidates Tournament 2026, which was held at the Cap Saint Georges Hotel and Resort in Pegeia, Cyprus, between 28 March and 16 April.[1][2]

The eight players to qualify to the Candidates Tournament were:[3][4]

Qualification method Player Age Rating[5] World

ranking[5]

(March 2026)
2024 FIDE Circuit winner United States Fabiano Caruana 33 2795 3
Top two finishers of the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss Netherlands Anish Giri (winner) 31 2753 8
Germany Matthias Blübaum (runner-up) 29 2698 33
Top three finishers of the 2025 FIDE World Cup Uzbekistan Javokhir Sindarov (winner) 20 2745 13
China Wei Yi (runner-up) 27 2754 7
FIDE Andrey Esipenko[a] (third place) 24 2698 34
2025 FIDE Circuit winner India R Praggnanandhaa 20 2741 14
Highest average rating (Aug 2025 – Jan 2026)[b] United States Hikaru Nakamura 38 2810 2

Unlike other Candidates Tournaments, and any FIDE World Championship cycle (except 1999–2004 during the split-title period), there was no automatic spot for the runner-up of the previous Championship (Ding Liren). To compensate, the 2024 championship was considered an eligible tournament for the FIDE Circuit, with the runner-up obtaining special bonus points for the 2025 FIDE Circuit based on his score.[7]

Results

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Standings of the 2026 Candidates Tournament
Rank Player
 Score SB Wins Qualification JS AG FC WY HN MB RP AE
1  Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) 10 / 14 64.75 6 Advanced to title match ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½
2  Anish Giri (NED) 8.5 / 14 56.5 4 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 0 ½ 1
3  Fabiano Caruana (USA) 7.5 / 14 48 4 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1
4  Wei Yi (CHN) 7 / 14 44.75 2 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1
5  Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 6.5 / 14 44.5 1 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½
6  Matthias Blübaum (GER) 6 / 14 42 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½
7  R Praggnanandhaa (IND) 6 / 14 40 1 0 0 1 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½
8  Andrey Esipenko (FIDE) 4.5 / 14 31.5 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½
Source: FIDE
Rules for classification: For first place: tie-break games. For subsequent spots: (1) results in tie-break games for first place, if any; (2) Sonneborn–Berger score (SB); (3) total number of wins; (4) head-to-head score among tied players; (5) drawing of lots.[2]
Note: Numbers in the crosstable in a white background indicate the result playing the respective opponent with the white pieces (black pieces if on a black background). This does not give information which of the two games was played in the first half of the tournament, and which in the second.

Championship match

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Organisation

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Bids for the hosting of the World Championship were to be presented to FIDE no later than 31 May 2026,[8] but the deadline was later extended to 21 June.[9]

Similar to the last world championship match, the prize fund allocated for the event is US$2.5 million.[10]

Notes

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  1. ^ Esipenko is Russian. However, he plays under the FIDE flag because FIDE banned the display of Russian and Belarusian flags on 27 February 2022 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[6]
  2. ^ Provided the player has played at least 40 games rated for the February 2025 through January 2026 standard rating lists, including at least 15 in any of the six consecutive lists from August 2025 to January 2026.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Leonard Barden (15 April 2026). "Javokhir Sindarov earns world chess title shot with stunning Candidates win". The Guardian.
  2. ^ a b "Regulations for the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026" (PDF). FIDE Handbook. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  3. ^ a b "FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026: Qualification paths" (PDF). FIDE. 27 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  4. ^ Anish Anand (27 March 2026). "India at FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026: All you need to know". ESPN. Archived from the original on 5 April 2026. Retrieved 5 April 2026.
  5. ^ a b "FIDE ratings - March 2026". ChessBase. 2026-03-03.
  6. ^ "FIDE Council condemns Russia's military action". ChessBase. 28 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  7. ^ "Changes to qualification paths for the Candidates Tournament". FIDE. 27 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  8. ^ "FIDE World Championship Match 2026 – Call for bids". FIDE. 30 April 2026. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
  9. ^ "FIDE extends bidding deadline for World Championship Match 2026". FIDE. 1 June 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  10. ^ "Gukesh vs Sindarov Chess World Championship match: Prize fund of USD 2.5 million, budget of USD 8.5 million as FIDE opens hosting bids". The Indian Express. 30 April 2026. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
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