Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi shared his thoughts on the FIDE Candidates 2026 participants. Ian criticizes Hikaru Nakamura’s approach to tournament preparation, names Fabiano Caruana and R Praggnanandhaa as favorites, and notes Wei Yi’s hidden potential.
Ian Nepomniachtchi
Russia's No. 1“Nakamura’s chances at the Candidates? I think zero chances. Zero!
How long can one refute everything the Soviet chess school taught — that you need to constantly study chess, not just play it occasionally. Not overdo blitz, and so on.
Top three favorites? Caruana, Praggnanandhaa. Pragg took a break from competition, probably to recharge.
The dark horse is Wei Yi. I really like how he plays. He competes rarely, but in every tournament Wei has played in, he performed very well.”
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. Ian Nepomniachtchi has made two major attempts at the World Championship, winning the Candidates Tournament in 2020-2021 and in 2022. He lost both Title matches, first to Magnus Carlsen in 2021 and then to Ding Liren in 2023.
Credit: Michal Walusza
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