Elite GMs Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri, Alireza Firouzja, Javokhir Sindarov, and Denis Lazavik made their tier lists of the 2026 Candidates Tournament participants. The grandmasters highlighted the favorites, players with good and slim chances, and those they believe should play in the tournament. Tier lists are taken from various interviews with GMs in 2026.

Magnus Carlsen (2840):

Tier	Players
Favorites	Caruana, Nakamura
Third favorite	Pragg
Big drop-off
Unlikely to win	Wei Yi, Giri, Esipenko, Bluebaum, Sindarov
Should be playing	Keymer, Erigaisi

Hikaru Nakamura (2810):

Tier	Players
Favorites	Caruana, Nakamura, Pragg, Giri
Decent chances	Sindarov, Wei Yi
Big drop-off
Unlikely to win	Esipenko, Bluebaum
Should be playing	Erigaisi, Keymer

Fabiano Caruana (2795):

Tier	Players
Favorites	Pragg, Nakamura
Good chances	Sindarov
Decent chances	Giri, Wei Yi
Unlikely to win	Esipenko, Bluebaum
Should be playing	Keymer, Abdusattorov, Erigaisi

Alireza Firouzja (2759):

Tier	Players
Favorites	Caruana, Nakamura, Pragg, Giri, Esipenko,
	Sindarov, Wei Yi
Good chances	Bluebaum
Should be playing	Erigaisi, Abdusattorov

Anish Giri (2753):

Tier	Players
Favorites	Caruana, Nakamura,
Decent chances	Giri, Wei Yi, Sindarov
Forgot to mention	Pragg
Unlikely to win	Esipenko, Bluebaum

Javokhir Sindarov (2745):

Tier	Players
Favorites	Caruana
Decent chances	Pragg, Nakamura, Sindarov, Giri, Wei Yi, Esipenko
Unlikely to win	Bluebaum
Should be playing	Abdusattorov, Erigaisi, Keymer

Denis Lazavik (2605):

Tier	Players
Favorites	Caruana, Nakamura, Giri
Decent chances	Pragg, Esipenko, Wei Yi, Sindarov
Unlikely to win	Bluebaum
Should be playing	Keymer, Abdusattorov, Erigaisi

The FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 will take place from March 28 to April 16, at the Cap St Georges Hotel and Resort in Pegeia, Cyprus. The event will decide the challenger for the World Chess Championship.

Credit: Lennart Ootes