Who qualifies for the Candidates, if a player withdraws?
Humpy Koneru announced her decision to withdraw from the Women Candidates 2026 which was followed by a wave of reactions and doubts regarding the whole state of the Candidates Chess 2026. The main question in the air is whether FIDE has a plan in case of an emergency situation in Cyprus. For now, no such plan is made public.
And what if a player withdraws from the open section of the Candidates Chess 2026? The rules there are clear, and Chess Numbers India summarizes the possibilities:
Fabiano Caruana withdraws, then Arjun Erigaisi is the replacement (2nd in Circuit 2024)
Sindarov / Wei Yi / Esipenko withdraw: Yakkuboev qualifies (4th World Cup)
Giri / Bluebaum withdraw: Firouzja is the replacement (3rd Grand Swiss)
Pragg withdraws: Abdusattorov qualifies (2nd in Circuit 2025)
Hikaru withdraws: the replacement can be Arjun Erigaisi (3rd in ranking among 40+ games players, but could also be Abdusattorov 2nd in FIDE Circuit 2025)