New Delhi, Dec 09 : Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa emerged victorious in the FIDE Circuit 2025 on Monday, securing his place in the 2026 Candidates Tournament as the only Indian male participant. The young Grandmaster from Chennai capped off a stellar year on the international chess stage, solidifying his status as India’s top male player in 2025.
FIDE celebrated Praggnanandhaa’s achievement in a post on X (formerly Twitter), noting his remarkable performance throughout the year. “Praggnanandhaa R. has won the FIDE Circuit 2025, securing a spot in the 2026 Candidates Tournament! Congratulations to @rpraggnachess, who deservedly earned one of the eight slots in the 2026 Candidates,” the post read.
The Grandmaster clinched victories at the Tata Steel Masters, Superbet Chess Classic Romania, UzChess Cup Masters, and London Chess Classic Open, while finishing second in the Stepan Avagyan Memorial and 12th Sinquefield Cup. Praggnanandhaa concluded the FIDE Circuit 2025 with a total score of 115.17, comfortably ahead of runner-up Anish Giri of the Netherlands (81.18) and Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan (71.61).
Joining Praggnanandhaa in the eight-player field for the 2026 Candidates Tournament are Anish Giri, Fabiano Caruana (USA), Matthias Bluebaum (Germany), Javokhir Sindarov (Uzbekistan), Wei Yi (China), and Andrey Esipenko (Russia). The final eighth spot will be determined by the player with the highest six-month average rating based on FIDE Standard Rating Lists from August 1, 2025, to January 1, 2026.
The 2026 Candidates Tournament is scheduled to take place from March 28 to April 16 at the Cap St Georges Hotel and Resort in Pegeia, Cyprus, running concurrently with the Women’s Candidates Tournament. India will also be represented in the Women’s Candidates by three top players: Divya Deshmukh, Koneru Humpy, and R. Vaishali.
The winner of the Candidates 2026 will go on to challenge reigning World Champion Dommaraju Gukesh in the World Chess Championship Final later in 2026. Dommaraju became the youngest ever World Chess Champion in December 2024 after defeating Ding Liren.
Praggnanandhaa’s triumph in the FIDE Circuit 2025 marks a historic moment for Indian chess, reinforcing the country’s growing presence on the global chess stage.