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