World-class players, expert predictions, and a festival of chess await as the battle for a shot at the world title unfolds at Cap St Georges Resort
With just one week to go before the start of the 2026 Candidates Tournament, excitement for the event is building at full speed.
The sixteen players (eight men and eight women) who will compete for the right to challenge the world champion will soon travel with their respective teams to the island of Cyprus.
As in previous editions, the organizing team has planned various parallel activities to ensure a complete experience for all fans eager to attend their first Candidates as spectators.
The venue
Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort is an award-winning luxury destination on the unspoiled coastline of Peyia, Paphos, Cyprus, offering an inspiring setting where elegance, tranquillity, and excellence come together.
Surrounded by landscaped gardens with centuries-old olive trees, the resort reflects the island’s character through refined architecture and well-designed spaces, with a strong focus on privacy, comfort, and attentive service.
Guests enjoy exceptional facilities, including Olive Tree Beach and Kafizis Beach, a beachfront framed by the resort’s natural surroundings, outdoor and heated indoor swimming pools, a spa and wellness centre, fully equipped fitness facilities, and a diverse collection of ten restaurants and bars offering refined international and local cuisine
The side events
The Pafos Municipality & Pafos Chess Club are hosting the 4th International Open Tournament, from April 13-19 (overlapping the Candidates’ final week).
The event will be a 9-round classical Swiss with a €5,000 prize fund – ideal for international norm and title seekers! The event has already attracted 10 GM’s and many other titled players. Check out the line-up here.
The tournament fan-zone, hosted by Angelika Valkova, will feature master-classes, simultaneous displays, lectures and Q&A during the event, with legendary players such as Vishy Anand, Nigel Short, Boris Gelfand, Victor Bologan and Alexandra Kosteniuk. In addition, each game day two or three players will join the fans after their games for interviews and photo opportunities.
The line-up and schedule is evolving continuously and can be found here.
Standard ticket holders can watch the games live from the viewing area inside the playing hall and have access to the fan zone. VIP ticket holders enjoy an enhanced experience, including access to the VIP lounge, live viewing from VIP seats inside the playing hall, preferential seating in the fan zone, all-day catering service, and a unique opportunity to play a chess game with a Grandmaster.
Tickets are available here https://tickets.fide.com/ with special limited-time offers and multi-day discounts available.
Expert forecasts
Over the past few days, many experts have shared their opinions about the tournament, indicating who has the greatest chances of winning and who could be the surprise player of the event.
As a five-time World Champion, Vishy Anand has taken part in this event multiple times, giving him some of the most valuable insight to draw upon. “The Candidates is one of the great competitions in chess. People are very-highly motivated, and they have a chance to play for the world title, which is obviously the big prize.”
“We have four people who are new and four who have played the Candidates before, with a few unexpected names. Bluebaum is a bit of a surprise; while with Wei Yi and Esipenko you sort of think that they could be in there. Also, Fabiano and Hikaru are getting on in age: it doesn’t show but in a long event you never know. Obviously, they remain very strong and very competitive, but I think youngsters almost always have more energy.”
Breaking down the tournament on the Perpetual Chess Podcast, Jan Gustafsson (one of the onsite commentators) outlined the most likely approach.
“I think that the good-old game after game strategy does apply. It’s good to score points at any moment but the players will start taking more risks when they are at plus one and there’s not that much tournament to go. You can’t really pace yourself in the Candidates, but sometimes when a player gets to plus three they freeze a little bit or stop taking risks and wait for the moment to score against a lower-rated opponent.”
Gustafsson’s co-host is once again none other than Peter Svidler, an eight-time national champion and three-time Candidates contender. Although he acknowledged that all the players have a reasonable chance, one stands above the rest.
“For me this has always been the most exciting tournament of the year, and definitely one of my highlights of the year. I don’t think there is a clear favourite but if I had to pick a player with a gun to my head I would go with Fabiano Caruana. He is so consistent and has a fantastic record playing in the Candidates However, it’s a very interesting field this year – Praggnanandhaa also has a decent shot.”
Official website: https://candidates2026.fide.com/
Written by IM Michael Rahal – FIDE press Officer (Barcelona, Spain)
Photos: Michal Walusza