Wei Yi qualifies for Candidates 2026
The FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 is an eight-player double round-robin chess tournament scheduled to take place between March 25 and May 1, 2026, to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship 2026 against reigning champion D. Gukesh. Organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE), the tournament follows a revamped qualification system introduced in 2024, that follows a merit-based qualification pathways through major events, ratings, and the FIDE Circuit. Unlike any other Candidates Tournaments, there is no automatic spot for the runner-up of the previous Championship (Ding Liren). Cyprus is announced as the host city of the Candidates Chess 2026. The Candidates will be held at the luxury Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort near Paphos, on the south-western coast of Cyprus.
The Candidates Tournament 2026 features eight qualifiers selected through diverse criteria. The Candidates 2026 will consist of the FIDE World Cup Winner, the top two finishers of the FIDE Grand Swiss, the top three finishers of the FIDE World Cup, the FIDE Circuit winners of 2024 and 2025, and one player by Highest average rating (Aug 2025 – Jan 2026).
See Candidates 2026 participants here / Candidates Chess 2026 is in Cyprus
Wei Yi qualifies for Candidates 2026
China will have its representative at the FIDE Candidates 2026, as Wei Yi has qualified to the Candidates via the FIDE World Cup. Wei Yi is the second 2700+ player together with Sindarov that will join the Candidates from the World Cup, where he just won his semifinal match vs Esipenko.
Wei Yi became a grandmaster at the age of 13 years, 8 months and 23 days, the 9th youngest in history. He is the youngest player ever to reach a rating of 2700, accomplishing this feat at age 15. At the Chess World Cup 2025, Wei Yi defeated Kacper Piorun 2-0 in the second round. He then went on to defeat Benjamin Gledura 2.5-1.5, Parham Maghsoodloo 5-3, and Samuel Sevian 1.5-0.5 in the third, fourth and fifth round respectively. In the Quarterfinals, he defeated Arjun Erigaisi 2.5-1.5 to reach the Semifinals for the first time. But he did not stop there and defeated Esipenko, to qualify for the FIDE World Chess Cup 2025 final and the Candidates 2026.