No previous Candidates Tournament winner scored 3.5 points in the first 4 rounds since the event switched to a double Round-Robin format in 2013.

Five tournament winners scored 3 points after four rounds, and two scored 2.5 points. Reigning World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju is the only player who wasn’t a leader.

Year Winner Points Games Was a leader?
2013 🇳🇴 Magnus Carlsen 3 2W, 2D, 0L Shared first place
2014 🇮🇳 Viswanathan Anand 3 2W, 2D, 0L Solo leader
2016 🇷🇺 Sergey Karjakin 3 2W, 2D, 0L Solo leader
2018 🇺🇸 Fabiano Caruana 3 2W, 2D, 0L Solo leader
2020-21 🇷🇺 Ian Nepomniachtchi 2.5 1W, 3D, 0L Shared first place
2022 🇷🇺 Ian Nepomniachtchi 3 2W, 2D, 0L Solo leader
2024 🇮🇳 Gukesh Dommaraju 2.5 1W, 3D, 0L Wasn’t a leader

Uzbek GM Javokhir Sindarov is the first player to score 3.5 points in the first four rounds of the tournament. Sindarov defeated Fabiano Caruana, Praggnanandhaa R and Andrey Esipenko, and drew with Matthias Bluebaum.

The FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 takes place from March 28 to April 16 at the Cap St Georges Hotel and Resort in Pegeia, Cyprus. Uzbek GM Javokhir Sindarov (2745) is participating in the Candidates Tournament for the first time, and qualified by winning the FIDE World Cup 2025.

Credit: Michal Walusza / FIDE