In December 2025, Indian Grandmaster (GM) Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa won the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Circuit 2025 with 115.17 points, a year-long series of tournaments held from January to December 2025, securing direct qualification to the Candidates Tournament 2026.
- He became the only male player to qualify via the FIDE Circuit and will make his second consecutive appearance at the Candidates Tournament.
- Three Indian women GM Divya Deshmukh, Koneru Humpy, and Vaishali Rameshbabu have already qualified for the 2026 Women’s Candidates Tournament.
Exam Hints:
- What: GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa won FIDE Circuit 2025
- Organiser: International Chess Federation (FIDE)
- Significance: Qualified for Candidates Tournament 2026; only male Indian player to qualify via FIDE Circuit
- Runner-up: Anish Giri (Netherlands)
- Candidates Tournament 2026:
- Venue & Dates: Pegeia, Cyprus
- Participants: Anish Giri, Fabiano Caruana, Matthias Blübaum, Javokhir Sindarov, Wei Yi, Andrey Esipenko, and R. Praggnanandhaa
- Women’s Candidates: Three Indian players Divya Deshmukh, Koneru Humpy, and R Vaishali.
About FIDE Circuit 2025:
Overview: The 2025 FIDE Circuit served as a system of top-level tournaments that acted as a qualification path for the Candidates Tournament 2026.
Organiser: International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation or Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE).
Scoring: Players earned points based on performance and tournament strength, with final standings determined by the sum of each player’s seven best results.
FIDE Circuit 2025 Standings: R.Praggnanandhaa topped the FIDE Circuit 2025 with 115.17 points, finishing comfortably ahead of runner-up Anish Giri (Netherlands) with 81.18 points and Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) with 71.61 points.
Top 5 players in FIDE Circuit 2025:
| Rank | Player | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa | India | 115.17 |
| 2 | Anish Giri | Netherlands | 81.18 |
| 3 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Uzbekistan | 71.61 |
| 4 | Fabiano Caruana | United States of America (USA) | 65.55 |
| 5 | Matthias Bluebaum | Germany | 63.94 |
About Candidates Tournament 2026:
Overview: The 2026 Candidates Tournament will determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship 2026.
Event Schedule: Scheduled to take place in Pegeia, Cyprus, from March 28 to April 16, 2026.
Format: It will feature eight players competing in a double round-robin, with Indian Grandmaster D. Gukesh defending his title.
Candidates 2026 Participants: Seven of the eight confirmed players for the 2026 Candidates Tournament are Anish Giri (Netherlands), Fabiano Caruana (USA), Matthias Blübaum (Germany), Javokhir Sindarov (Uzbekistan), Wei Yi (China), Andrey Esipenko (Russia), and R. Praggnanandhaa (India).
- The final spot goes to the player with the highest six-month average rating (August 2025–January 2026) who has played at least 40 FIDE-rated games during February 2025–January 2026.
Indian Performers: Indian GMs who have won the Candidates Tournament include Viswanathan Anand in 1995 at age 26 and Gukesh Dommaraju in 2024 at age 17, becoming the youngest winner in history.
About Federation Internationale des Echecs/International Chess Federation (FIDE):
President – Arkady Dvorkovich
Headquarters – Lausanne, Switzerland
Established – 1924
