The Chess Candidates 2024 is set to take place at the Great Hall in Toronto from April 3 up until April 22.
The Candidates tournament, established in 1950, is held in order to decide the challengers for the World Champions in Men’s and Women’s category. The winner of Candidates Open category will take on reigning world champion Ding Liren and the Women's Candidates winner will take on women's world champion Ju Wenjun.
The Chess Candidates promises to be a thrilling event with 16 world class players, eight in each category, going head-to-head against each other.
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Three Indians, including teenagers R Pragganandhaa and D Gukesh, and 29-year old Vidith Gujrathi will be part of the Open category. Meanwhile, in the Women’s category, Vaishali Rameshbabu and Koneru Humpy will be the ones to represent the Indian flag.
This is the first time that more than one Indian is competing at the tournament. Since 1991, Indian icon Viswanathan Anand was the sole Indian to compete at the prestigious event. He also won the World Championship five times.
Why is former world champion Magnus Carlsen not competing?
It didn't come as a surprise when World Number 1, Magnus Carlsen declined to participate in the Candidates tournament even after qualifying for it by winning the FIDE World Cup.
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The reason behind Magnus’ decision to opt out from the tournament was his displeasure with the format of the tournament and the longer time control. Carlsen stated that he prefers formats with shorter time controls.
The reigning Number 1 has won the prestigious title five times but refused from defending it last year, relinquishing the title in the process.
Who is participating in the FIDE Candidates tournament?
- Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE, 2758) – qualified as the previous World Championship match runner-up.
- Praggnanandhaa R (India, 2747) – qualified as the 2023 World Cup runner-up.
- Fabiano Caruana (USA, 2804) – qualified as the third-place finisher at the 2023 World Cup.
- Nijat Abasov (Azerbaijan, 2632) – qualified as the fourth-place finisher at the 2023 World Cup after the winner, Magnus Carlsen, declined his right to participate.
- Vidit Gujrathi (India, 2747) – qualified as the 2023 Grand Swiss winner.
- Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 2789) – qualified as the 2023 Grand Swiss runner-up.
- Alireza Firouzja (France, 2760) – qualified as the best by rating on January 1, 2024.
- Gukesh D (India, 2747) – qualified as the 2023 FIDE Circuit winner.
Who is participating in the FIDE Women's Candidates tournament?
- Lei Tingjie (China, 2550) – qualified as the previous World Championship match runner-up.
- Kateryna Lagno (FIDE, 2542) – qualified as the 2022−23 Women’s Grand Prix winner.
- Aleksandra Goryachkina (FIDE, 2553) – qualified as the 2022−23 Women’s Grand Prix runner-up.
- Nurgyul Salimova (Bulgaria, 2426) – qualified as the 2023 Women’s World Cup runner-up.
- Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine, 2520) – qualified as the third-place finisher at the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
- Vaishali R (India, 2481) – qualified as the 2023 Women’s Grand Swiss winner.
- Tan Zhongyi (China, 2521) – qualified as the 2023 Women’s Grand Swiss runner-up.
- Humpy Koneru (India, 2546) – qualified as the best by rating on January 1, 2024. The rating spot became available as a replacement for the Women’s World Cup winner, since Goryachkina had already qualified through the WGP.
What is the format of the Candidates Chess tournament?
Both events are double round-robin - each player will face seven of their rivals twice, once with white and once with black pieces. Fourteen rounds of the tournament will be played over three weeks, with four rest days.
What is the prize money for the Candidates Chess tournament?
Total prize money for the Candidates Tournament is €500,000 and €250,000 for the Women’s Candidates Tournament. The winner of the Open category will earn a cheque of €48,000 while the women's winner will be awarded €24,000.
Candidates tournament first round match-ups:
Candidates Tournament:
Fabiano Caruana vs. Hikaru Nakamura
Nijat Abasov vs. Ian Nepomniachtchi
Alireza Firouzja vs. Praggnanandhaa R
Gukesh D vs. Vidit Gujrathi
Women’s Candidates Tournament:
Aleksandra Goryachkina vs. Kateryna Lagno
Anna Muzychuk vs. Nurgyul Salimova
Lei Tingjie vs. Tan Zhongyi
Vaishali R vs. Humpy Koneru
How to watch Chess Candidates tournament from India?
There’s no official announcement for the broadcasting of the Candidates tournament 2024 in India but the tournament can be live streamed on the official FIDE YouTube channel.
The opening ceremony will take place on the evening of April 3. Both tournaments will be set in motion on April 4 at 14:30 local time with the first round.
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