Andrey Esipenko 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
The final player to qualify for the Candidates 2026 is Andrey Esipenko. The Russian player made it to the World Chess Championship 2026 qualifier via the World Chess Cup, taking the bronze medal in the competition. The final Candidates roaster is Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri, Matthias Bluebaum, R Praggnanandhaa, Hikaru Nakamura, Javokhir Sindarov, Wei Yi, and Andrey Esipenko.
About Andrey Esipenko
Andrey Esipenko, the 23-year-old Russian Grandmaster (born March 22, 2002), has carved a niche among the elite in recent years. With a peak FIDE rating of 2723 (March 2022) and a current rating of 2681 (November 2025), ranking him No. 41 globally, Esipenko’s career is taking a huge upgrade with the qualification to the Candidates. Esipenko’s ascent began with precocious norm achievements, securing the FIDE Master title in 2013 at age 11 and all three Grandmaster norms by late 2017, earning the GM title in April 2018.
Esipenko’s 2019 Tata Steel Challengers (8.5/13, +5–1=7; 2nd place) marked his entry into 2700+ performances, with a norm-equivalent 2725 TPR. In the 2021 Tata Steel Masters (8/13, +4–1=8; 3rd place; 2815 TPR) he achieved a round-8 upset over Magnus Carlsen (1-0), the first classical loss by the reigning champion to a teenager since 2011.