Fabiano Caruana

World No. 3

“Of course, I want to win. That is the only goal of participating in the Candidates. But I think it will be very close. Unlike some previous Candidates, the gap in preparation has become much smaller now. Everyone is more or less equally prepared. I expect that many players will be able to fight for first place.

Praggnanandhaa I would rank quite high. He had a bad period, but last year he showed the ability to win top tournaments. For me, that’s more important than the current rating. I would definitely put Pragg among the favorites.

Esipenko… I find it difficult to place him among the favorites because of his rating, and also because he hasn’t won major tournaments. Nevertheless, he is a very dangerous opponent. He could very well score a good result and ruin the tournament for others.

Wei Yi is difficult to evaluate. He is very strong. Sometimes in his games, you can see that he plays with incredible precision and has a perfect understanding of positions. But in terms of tournament victories — he doesn’t have many. I would rank him below Pragg.

Giri is a very deep chess thinker. He knows how to build a strategy. But whether he can win many games, which might be necessary to win the tournament — that’s the question. That hasn’t always been his strong suit. I would put him slightly above Wei Yi, but below Pragg.

Blubaum is a player who can ruin people’s tournament and potentially put up a good score, but his chances of winning the tournament are limited. I would rank him last in terms of chances to win. But he could still perform very well.

Sindarov definitely knows how to win tournaments. He is very dangerous. He has a ‘killer instinct,’ in some ways similar to Pragg. He has little experience, but perhaps he doesn’t need it. He is in excellent form right now. But I would still put him somewhere between Pragg and Anish.

Hikaru I would rank at about the same level as Pragg. He hasn’t won a huge number of tournaments, but he knows how to win. He is definitely capable of winning. Yes, he is not very active, but we know his strength. It would be strange to rank him below Pragg.”