Praggnanandhaa R extended his lead in the FIDE Circuit race over the summer with impressive performances at the UzChess Cup Masters (1st place, 22.19 points) and the 12th Sinquefield Cup (2nd place, 20.72 points).
With only four months remaining, he now holds a lead of nearly 55 points over second-placed Anish Giri—a gap that already looks insurmountable given the young Indian’s excellent form. Barring a highly unlikely chain of unfavorable circumstances, Praggnanandhaa seems poised to secure his spot in the 2026 Candidates Tournament.
Anish Giri rose to second place in the standings thanks to a strong performance at the Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters, which earned him 20.94 points. The winner of that event, Vincent Keymer, broke into the top 10, while Amin Tabatabaei returned to this group following his good showing in the Fujairah Global 2025 – Superstars.
Nodirbek Abdusattorov climbed to third in the race after finishing third at the UzChess Cup Masters, adding 18.56 points to his tally.
Matthias Bluebaum also had a productive summer, gaining 17.91 points from his performances at the Sparkassen Chess Trophy 2025 A-Open and the 61st International Akiba Rubinstein Chess Festival, moving up to fourth on the leaderboard.
Meanwhile, Ding Liren continues to slide down the standings—a predictable trend given that he has played only one Circuit-qualifying event this year.
Notably, several Grandmasters in the current top 20—Chithambaram Aravindh, Vincent Keymer, Javokhir Sindarov, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and Vladimir Fedoseev—have played only two Circuit tournaments so far. This leaves them significant potential to climb the rankings.
With this in mind, the upcoming FIDE Grand Swiss is expected to trigger major shifts within the top 10. However, it is unlikely to threaten Praggnanandhaa’s commanding position at the summit.
We maintain a dedicated page on our website for the FIDE Circuit 2025, featuring the latest information on eligible tournaments, current standings, and regulations.
Visit: FIDE Circuit 2025