Viswanathan Anand and Anish Giri (Screengrabs) Goa is currently hosting the FIDE World Championship, which will bring together top chess players from around the world, including Levon Aronian and Dutch number one Anish Giri.A funny video went viral on social media where players were asked about the place of FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026.“Either in Saint-Louis or in Chennai,” Levon said.
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“I’m going to say I’m not sure. So I’m probably going to screw it up,” said five-time world champion and FIDE vice-president Vishwanathan Anand.Different players offered different predictions. Arjun Erigiasi suggested Argentina, while Anish Giri and Ediz Gurel mentioned London, with Giri claiming inside information.WATCH:MVL predicted Kazakhstan and Faustino Oro named Poland. However, FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich later revealed that Cyprus would host both the male and female candidate tournaments in 2026.The tournaments are scheduled to take place from 28 March to 16 April 2026 at the Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort near Paphos on the south-west coast of Cyprus.The Indian Chess Federation (AICF) has shown interest in hosting the prestigious event. The winner of the Women’s Candidates tournament will challenge China’s Ju Wenjun for the Women’s World Championship.Several players have already qualified for the Candidates Tournament. They include Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri, Matthias Bluebaum and Hikaru Nakamura.India’s R Praggnanandhaa is favored to secure the position of FIDE 2025 top player next month. The ongoing FIDE World Championship will provide candidates with three more slots.Five Indian players, including Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and Pentala Harikrishna, remain among the 32 contestants competing for the three positions in Goa.In the women’s category, Indian players Divya Deshmukh and Koneru Humpy secured their places in the women’s tournament through the FIDE Women’s World Cup.“The Candidates Tournament is the final and most difficult test for any female chess player who wants to challenge a world champion in a title match, and it is the most difficult hurdle in the World Championship cycle,” said FIDE President Arkadij Dvorkovich, noting that Cyprus has previous experience of hosting the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix twice.
