Wei Yi commented on Fabiano Caruana’s performance at the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026. Wei says he considered Caruana the tournament favorite, and notes the psychological impact of Fabiano’s two consecutive losses.

Wei Yi

Wei Yi

China's No. 1

“Even before the tournament, everyone considered Caruana the main favorite… And I did too.

Two losses in a row are very rare for him. Especially the game with Hikaru, he had good chances to hold a draw in that game. But he lost in the Endgame…

I think that loss had a big impact on him. He didn’t have time to recover psychologically by the next game. So, he lost that one too. And after that, he no longer had clear chances for first place.

But I think, if we evaluate the tournament as a whole, Fabiano probably wasn’t in his best form even before the Candidates. Despite this, he played very well in a few games.

But in my opinion, this was not his best performance.”

The FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 took place from March 28 to April 15, at the Cap St Georges Hotel and Resort in Pegeia, Cyprus. Fabiano Caruana finished 3rd in the event with 7.5/14 points. Caruana lost one game to Sindarov, and two in a row to Hikaru Nakamura and Anish Giri. Fabiano played in the Candidates Tournament for the 6th time.

Credit: Yoav Nisenbaum / FIDE