Candidates Tournament
Template:Short description Template:For The Candidates Tournament (or in some periods Candidates Matches) is a chess tournament organized by FIDE, chess's international governing body, since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. The winner of the Candidates earns the right to a match for the World Championship against the incumbent world champion.
Before 1993 it was contested triennially; almost always held every third year from 1950 to 1992 inclusive. After the split of the World Championship in the early 1990s, the cycles were disrupted, even after the reunification of the titles in 2006. Since 2013 it has settled into a 2-year cycle: qualification for Candidates during the odd-numbered year, Candidates played early in the even-numbered year, and the World Championship match played late in the even-numbered year. The latter half of the 2020 Candidates Tournament was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was only played in April 2021.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="FIDEfeb16">FIDE resumes the Candidates Tournament, FIDE, February 16, 2021</ref> The subsequent tournament, the 2022 Candidates Tournament, took place as scheduled in 2022.<ref>Emilchess on Twitter, Twitter, April 28, 2021</ref>
Precursors
Before 1950, the champion had the right to handpick a challenger. However, a number of tournaments acted as de facto candidates tournaments:
- The London 1883 chess tournament established Johannes Zukertort and Wilhelm Steinitz as the best two players in the world, and was one of the important events leading to the first official world championship match between the two, in 1886. Steinitz won, making him the first official world champion.
- The Saint Petersburg 1895–96 chess tournament, in which world champion Emanuel Lasker finished first and Steinitz finished second, led to Steinitz gaining support for an 1897 rematch,<ref>Israel Horowitz, From Morphy to Fischer, Batsford, 1973, page 52</ref> which Lasker won.
- The AVRO 1938 chess tournament was held partly to choose a challenger for Alexander Alekhine.<ref>Israel Horowitz, From Morphy to Fischer, Batsford, 1973, page 116</ref> Paul Keres won on tie-breaks, but World War II prevented the match from happening.
Organization
The number of players in the tournament varied over the years, between eight and fifteen players. Most of these qualified from Interzonal tournaments, though some gained direct entry without having to play the Interzonal.
The first Interzonal/Candidates World Championship cycle began in 1948. Before 1965, the tournament was organized in a round-robin format. From 1965 on, the tournament was played as knockout matches, spread over several months. In 1995–1996, the defending FIDE champion (Anatoly Karpov) also entered the Candidates, in the third round (Candidates final).
During its 1993 to 2006 split from FIDE, the "Classical" World Championship also held three Candidates Tournaments (in 1994–1995, 1998 and 2002) under a different sponsor and a different format each time. In one of these cases (Alexei Shirov in 1998) no title match eventuated, under disputed circumstances (see Classical World Chess Championship 2000).
After the reunification of titles in 2006, FIDE tried different Candidates formats in 2007, 2009 and 2011, before settling on an 8 player, double round robin Candidates tournament from 2013 onwards.
Results of Candidates Tournaments
The tables below show the qualifiers and results for all interzonal, Candidates and world championship tournaments.
- Players shown bracketed in italics (Bondarevsky, Euwe, Fine and Reshevsky in 1950, Botvinnik in 1965, Fischer in 1977, Carlsen in 2011 and 2024, and Radjabov in 2020) qualified for the Candidates or were seeded in the Candidates, but did not play.
- Players shown in italics with an asterisk (Stein* in 1962 and again in 1965, and Bronstein* in 1965) were excluded from the Candidates by a rule limiting the number of players from one country.
- Karjakin* in 2022 was disqualified by FIDE after his qualification for the Candidates: the FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission ruled that he breached Article 2.2.10 of the FIDE Code of Ethics after he made public comments approving of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. He is shown bracketed, in italics, and with an asterisk.
- Players listed after players in italics (Flohr in 1950, Benko in 1962, Geller, Ivkov and Portisch in 1965, Spassky in 1977, Grischuk in 2011, Vachier-Lagrave in 2020, Ding in 2022, and Abasov in 2024) only qualified due to the non-participation (withdrawal) of the bracketed players or players with an asterisk.
- Incumbent champions' names are struck through when they refused to defend their title (Fischer in 1975 and Carlsen in 2023).
Normally, the incumbent champion is seeded directly into the final against the challenger (who had to pass through the Candidates qualification), but there have been exceptions:
- The World Chess Championship 1948, in which five players were seeded into the championship tournament (the previous champion, Alexander Alekhine, having died in 1946). A sixth player, Fine, was also seeded into the championship tournament but chose not to play; he is shown in brackets.
- The FIDE World Chess Championship 1996, in which the FIDE World Champion Anatoly Karpov was seeded in the Candidates final.
- The Classical World Chess Championship 2000, in which two players were seeded into the championship final (one of them being incumbent champion Kasparov), and there were no previous qualifying stages. In this way, it resembled the pre-1946 events, in which the champion could handpick a challenger.
- The FIDE championships of 1999–2004 (during the split-title period), in which the incumbent champion had no special privileges.
- The FIDE World Chess Championship 2005, in which eight players (including incumbent FIDE champion Kasimdzhanov) were seeded into the final championship tournament.
- The FIDE World Chess Championship 2007, in which four players (including incumbent champion Kramnik) were seeded into the final championship tournament.
The incumbent champion Bobby Fischer refused to defend his title at the World Chess Championship 1975, and his challenger Anatoly Karpov won by forfeit. (At the time, the Candidates was a knock-out event, so the 1974 Karpov–Korchnoi Candidates final match – a best of 24 games, like world championships in the period 1951–1972 and 1985–1993 – arguably became a de facto world championship in retrospect.) Magnus Carlsen refused to defend his title at the World Chess Championship 2023 and was replaced by the runner-up of the Candidates Tournament, Ding Liren.
Interzonal and Candidates tournaments (1948–1996)
| Year | Selection of participants | Championship | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | In 1946–1947, FIDE planned the 1948 championship tournament, selecting six notable players for the reasons shown. Fine withdrew from the tournament. |
1938 AVRO winners: Template:* Template:Flagicon Keres Template:* Template:Flagicon (Fine) Former world champion: Template:* Template:Flagicon Euwe |
Multiple US champion: Template:* Template:Flagicon Reshevsky Soviet Champion: Template:*Template:Flagicon Botvinnik Soviet grandmaster: Template:*Template:Flagicon Smyslov |
The Hague/Moscow 1948 Quintuple round robin: 1Template:Flagicon Botvinnik 14/20 2Template:FlagiconSmyslov 11 3-4 Template:Flagicon Keres 10½ 3-4 Template:Flagicon Reshevsky 10½ 5 Template:Flagicon Euwe 4 | ||
| Year | Interzonal tournaments | Candidates tournaments | Championship | |||
| Format | Results | Seeded | Results | Contestants | Results | |
| 1948–51 | Saltsjöbaden (Stockholm) 1948: Single round robin 20 players 8 qualified |
1 Template:Flagicon Bronstein 2 Template:Flagicon Szabo 3 Template:Flagicon Boleslavsky Template:Flagicon(Bondarevsky<ref>Bondarevsky was replaced in Candidates tournament because of illness</ref>) |
Template:Flagicon Smyslov Template:Flagicon Keres Template:Flagicon Euwe Template:Flagicon Fine |
Budapest 1950 Double round robin 10 players 1-2 Template:Flagicon Boleslavsky 1-2 Template:Flagicon Bronstein 3 Template:Flagicon Smyslov 4 Template:Flagicon Keres Playoff: Template:* Template:Flagicon Bronstein beat |
Candidates winner: Template:* Template:Flagicon Bronstein Defending champion: Template:* Template:Flagicon Botvinnik |
Moscow 1951 24-game match Drawn 12–12 Template:Flagicon Botvinnik retained title |
| 1952–54 | Saltsjöbaden (Stockholm) 1952 Single round robin 21 players 8 qualified |
1 Template:Flagicon Kotov 2-3 Template:Flagicon Taimanov |
7 more: Template:*Template:Flagicon Bronstein Template:* Template:Flagicon Boleslavsky Template:* Template:FlagiconSmyslov Template:* Template:Flagicon Keres Template:* Template:Flagicon Reshevsky Template:* Template:Flagicon Najdorf<ref>from previous Candidates</ref> Template:* Template:Flagicon Euwe<ref>from 1948 Championship</ref> |
Zürich 1953 Double round robin 15 players 1 Template:Flagicon Smyslov 2-4 Template:Flagicon Bronstein 2-4 Template:Flagicon Keres 2-4 Template:Flagicon Reshevsky |
Candidates winner: Template:* Template:Flagicon Smyslov Defending champion: Template:* Template:Flagicon Botvinnik |
Moscow 1954 24-game match Drawn 12–12 Template:Flagicon Botvinnik retained title |
| 1955–57 | Gothenburg 1955 Single round robin 21 players 9 qualified |
1 Template:Flagicon Bronstein 2 Template:Flagicon Keres 3 Template:Flagicon Panno 4 Template:Flagicon Petrosian 5-6 Template:Flagicon Geller 5-6 Template:Flagicon Szabo 7–9 Template:Flagicon Filip 7–9 Template:Flagicon Pilnik |
Template:Flagicon Smyslov | Amsterdam 1956 Double round robin 10 players 1 Template:Flagicon Smyslov 2 Template:Flagicon Keres |
Candidates winner: Template:* Template:Flagicon Smyslov Defending champion: Template:* Template:Flagicon Botvinnik |
Moscow 1957 24-game match Template:Flagicon Smyslov won 12½–9½ |
| 1958 | Rematch | Template:*Template:Flagicon Botvinnik Template:* Template:Flagicon Smyslov |
Moscow 1958 24-game match Template:Flagicon Botvinnik won 12½–10½ | |||
| 1958–60 | Portorož 1958 Single round robin 21 players 6 qualified |
1 Template:Flagicon Tal 2 Template:Flagicon Gligorić 3-4 Template:FlagiconPetrosian 3-4 Template:Flagicon Benko 5-6 Template:Flagicon Friðrik 5-6 Template:Flagicon Fischer |
Template:* Template:Flagicon Smyslov Template:* Template:Flagicon Keres |
Yugoslavia<ref>Bled, Zagreb, Beograd</ref> 1959 Quadruple round robin 8 players 1 Template:Flagicon Tal 2 Template:Flagicon Keres 3 Template:Flagicon Petrosian 4 Template:Flagicon Smyslov |
Candidates winner: Template:* Template:Flagicon Tal Defending champion: Template:* Template:Flagicon Botvinnik |
Moscow 1960 24-game match Template:Flagicon Tal won 12½–8½ |
| 1961 | Rematch | Template:* Template:Flagicon Botvinnik Template:* Template:Flagicon Tal |
Moscow 1961 24-game match Template:Flagicon Botvinnik won 13–8 | |||
| 1962–63 | Stockholm 1962 Single round robin 23 players 6 qualified |
1 Template:Flagicon Fischer 2-3 Template:Flagicon Geller 2-3 Template:FlagiconPetrosian 4-5 Template:FlagiconKorchnoi 4-5 Template:Flagicon Filip 6-8 Template:FlagiconStein* 6-8 Template:Flagicon Benko<ref>In the play-off, Stein finished first before Benko, and Gligorić third. Stein was eliminated because only three Soviet players could qualify from the interzonal to the candidates tournament.</ref> |
Template:* Template:Flagicon Tal Template:* Template:Flagicon Keres |
Curaçao 1962 Quadruple round robin 8 players 1 Template:Flagicon Petrosian; 2 Template:Flagicon Keres<ref>after playoff match against Geller</ref> 3 Template:Flagicon Geller 4 Template:Flagicon Fischer |
Candidates winner: Template:* Template:Flagicon Petrosian Defending champion: Template:* Template:Flagicon Botvinnik |
Moscow 1963 24-game match Template:Flagicon Petrosian won 12½–9½ |
| 1964–66 | Amsterdam 1964 Single round robin 24 players 6 qualified |
1-4 Template:FlagiconSmyslov 1-4 Template:Flagicon Larsen 1-4 Template:FlagiconSpassky 1-4 Template:Flagicon Tal 5 Template:Flagicon Stein* 6 Template:Flagicon Bronstein* 7 Template:Flagicon Ivkov 8-9 Template:FlagiconPortisch<ref>Portisch beat Reshevsky in play-off.</ref> |
Template:* Template:Flagicon Keres Template:* (Template:Flagicon Botvinnik) Template:* Template:Flagicon Geller |
1965: 8 players, matches Semi-finals winners: Template:* Spassky beat Geller Template:* Template:Flagicon Tal beat Template:FlagiconLarsen |
Candidates winner: Template:* Template:Flagicon Spassky Defending champion: Template:* Template:Flagicon Petrosian |
Moscow 1966 24-game match Template:Flagicon Petrosian won 12½–11½ |
| 1967–69 | Sousse 1967 Single round robin 23 players 6 qualified |
1Template:Flagicon Larsen 2-4 Template:Flagicon Korchnoi |
Template:* Template:Flagicon Spassky Template:*Template:Flagicon Tal |
1968: 8 players, matches Semi-finals: Template:* Template:Flagicon Korchnoi beat Template:Flagicon Tal Template:* Template:Flagicon Spassky beat Template:Flagicon Larsen Finals: Template:* Template:Flagicon Spassky beat Template:Flagicon Korchnoi |
Champions winner: Template:* Template:Flagicon Spassky Defending champion: Template:* Template:Flagicon Petrosian |
Moscow 1969 24-game match Template:Flagicon Spassky won 12½–10½ |
| 1970–72 | Palma de Mallorca 1970 Single round robin 24 players 6 qualified |
1 Template:Flagicon Fischer 2-4 Template:Flagicon Larsen 2-4 Template:Flagicon Geller 2-4 Template:Flagicon Hübner 5-6 |
Template:* Template:Flagicon Petrosian Template:*Template:Flagicon Korchnoi |
1971: 8 players, matches Semi-finals: Template:* Template:Flagicon Petrosian beat Template:Flagicon Korchnoi Template:* Template:Flagicon Fischer beat Template:Flagicon Larsen Finals: Template:* Template:Flagicon Fischer beat Template:Flagicon Petrosian |
Candidates winner: Template:*Template:Flagicon Fischer Defending champion: Template:* Template:Flagicon Spassky |
Reykjavík 1972 24-game match Template:Flagicon Fischer won 12½–8½ |
| 1973–75 | 1973: Two single round robins 18 players each 3 qualified from each |
Leningrad 1973: 1-2 Template:FlagiconKorchnoi 1-2 Template:Flagicon Karpov 3 Template:Flagicon Byrne |
Template:*Template:Flagicon Spassky Template:* Template:Flagicon Petrosian |
1974: 8 players, matches Semi-finals: Template:* Template:Flagicon Korchnoi beat Template:Flagicon Petrosian Template:* Template:Flagicon Karpov beat Template:Flagicon Spassky Finals: Template:* Template:Flagicon Karpov beat Template:Flagicon Korchnoi |
Candidates winner: Template:* Template:Flagicon Karpov Defending champion: Template:* |
1975: Template:Flagicon Karpov won on forfeit |
| Petropolis 1973: 1 Template:Flagicon Mecking 2-4 Template:Flagicon Portisch | ||||||
| 1976–78 | 1976: Two single round robins 20 players each 3 qualified from each |
Biel 1976: 1 Template:Flagicon Larsen 2-4 Template:Flagicon Petrosian |
Template:* Template:Flagicon Korchnoi Template:*(Template:Flagicon Fischer) Template:*Template:Flagicon Spassky |
1977: 8 players, matches Semi-finals: Template:* Template:Flagicon Korchnoi beat Template:Flagicon Polugaevsky Template:* Template:Flagicon Spassky beat Template:Flagicon Portisch Finals: Template:* Template:Flagicon Korchnoi beat Template:Flagicon Spassky |
Candidates winner: Template:* Template:Flagicon Korchnoi Defending champion: Template:* Template:Flagicon Karpov |
Baguio 1978 Template:Flagicon Karpov won 6–5 after 32 games (draws not counting) |
| Manila 1976: 1 Template:Flagicon Mecking 2-3 Template:Flagicon Polugaevsky 2-3 Template:Flagicon Hort | ||||||
| 1979–81 | 1979: Two single round robins 18 players each 3 qualified from each |
Riga 1979: 1-2 Template:Flagicon Tal 1-2 Template:Flagicon Polugaevsky 3-4 Template:Flagicon Adorján<ref>Ribli eliminated after playoff</ref> |
Template:*Template:Flagicon Korchnoi Template:*Template:Flagicon Spassky |
1980: 8 players, matches Semi-finals: Template:* Template:Flagicon Korchnoi beat Template:Flagicon Polugaevsky Template:* Template:Flagicon Hübner beat Template:Flagicon Portisch Finals: Template:* Template:Flagicon Korchnoi beat Template:Flagicon Hübner |
Candidates winner: Template:* Template:Flagicon Korchnoi Defending champion: Template:*Template:Flagicon Karpov |
Meran 1981 Template:Flagicon Karpov won 6–2 after 18 games (draws not counting) |
| Rio de Janeiro 1979: 1-3 Template:Flagicon Portisch 1-3 Template:FlagiconPetrosian 1-3 Template:Flagicon Hübner | ||||||
| 1982–85 | 1982: Three single round robins 14 players each 2 qualified from each |
Las Palmas 1982: 1 Template:Flagicon Ribli 2 Template:Flagicon Smyslov |
Template:* Template:Flagicon Korchnoi Template:*Template:Flagicon Hübner |
1983–84: 8 players, matches Semi-finals: Template:* Template:Flagicon Kasparov beat Template:Flagicon Korchnoi Template:* Template:Flagicon Smyslov beat Template:Flagicon Ribli Finals, 1984: Template:* Template:Flagicon Kasparov beat Template:Flagicon Smyslov |
Candidates winner: Template:* Template:Flagicon Kasparov Defending champion: Template:* Template:Flagicon Karpov |
Moscow 1984–85 Unlimited match abandoned after 48 games with Template:Flagicon Karpov leading 5–3 (draws not counting) |
| Toluca 1982: 1-2 Template:Flagicon Portisch 1-2 Template:Flagicon Torre | ||||||
| Moscow 1982: 1 Template:Flagicon Kasparov 2 Template:Flagicon Beliavsky | ||||||
| 1985 | Replay | Template:* Template:Flagicon Karpov Template:* Template:Flagicon Kasparov |
Moscow 1985 24-game match Template:Flagicon Kasparov won 13–11 | |||
| 1986 | Rematch | Template:* Template:Flagicon Karpov Template:* Template:Flagicon Kasparov |
London/Leningrad 1986 24-game match Template:Flagicon Kasparov won 12½–11½ | |||
| 1985–87 | 1985: 3 single round robins 16–18 players each 4 qualified from each |
Biel 1985: 1 Template:Flagicon Vaganian 2 Template:Flagicon Seirawan 3 Template:Flagicon Sokolov 4-6 Template:Flagicon Short<ref>Van Der Wiel and Torre eliminated after playoff</ref> |
Seeded in tournament: Template:* Template:Flagicon Korchnoi Template:* Template:Flagicon Ribli Template:* Template:Flagicon Smyslov Template:* Template:Flagicon Spassky<ref name=chosen>chosen by the organizating federation</ref> Seeded in 1987 final: Template:* Template:Flagicon Karpov |
Montpellier 1985: Single round robin tournament 16 players 1-3 Template:Flagicon Yusupov 1-3 Template:Flagicon Sokolov 1-3 Template:Flagicon Vaganian 4-5 Template:Flagicon Timman<ref>Timman eliminated Tal in play-off</ref> 1986: Two rounds of matches 4 players Template:* Template:Flagicon Yusupov beat Template:Flagicon Timman Template:* Template:Flagicon Sokolov beat Template:Flagicon Vaganian and Template:Flagicon Yusupov. Finals, Linares, 1987: Template:* Template:Flagicon Karpov beat matches winner Template:Flagicon Sokolov |
Candidates winner: Template:* Template:Flagicon Karpov Defending champion: Template:* Template:Flagicon Kasparov |
Seville 1987 24-game match Drawn 12–12 Template:Flagicon Kasparov retained title |
| Taxco 1985: 1 Template:Flagicon Timman 2 Template:Flagicon Nogueiras 3 Template:Flagicon Tal 4 Template:Flagicon Spraggett; | ||||||
| Tunis 1985: 1 Template:Flagicon Yusupov 2 Template:Flagicon Beliavsky 3 Template:Flagicon Portisch 4-5 Template:Flagicon Chernin<ref>Gavrikov eliminated after playoff</ref> | ||||||
| 1987–90 | 1987: Three single round robins 17–18 players each 3 qualified from each |
Subotica 1987: 1-3 Template:Flagicon Sax 1-3 Template:Flagicon Short 1-3 |
Template:* Template:Flagicon Sokolov Template:* Template:Flagicon Timman Template:* Template:Flagicon Vaganian Template:* Template:Flagicon Yusupov Template:* Template:Flagicon Spraggett<ref name=chosen/> Seeded in 2nd round: Template:* Template:Flagicon Karpov |
1988: One round of matches 14 players 1989: Template:* Template:Flagicon Karpov (joined winners in quarter finals) Semi-finals (1989): Template:* Template:Flagicon Karpov beat Template:Flagicon Yusupov Template:Flagicon Timman |
Candidates winner: Template:*Template:Flagicon Karpov Defending champion: Template:* Template:Flagicon Kasparov |
New York City/Lyon 1990 24-game match Template:Flagicon Kasparov won 12½–11½ |
| Szirák 1987: 1-2 Template:Flagicon Salov 1-2 Template:Flagicon Hjartarson 3-4 Template:Flagicon Portisch<ref>Nunn eliminated after Playoff</ref> | ||||||
| Zagreb 1987: 1 Template:Flagicon Korchnoi 2-3 Template:Flagicon Seirawan | ||||||
| 1990–93 | Manila 1990 64 players Swiss 11 qualified |
1-2 Template:Flagicon Gelfand 1-2 Template:Flagicon Ivanchuk 3-4 Template:Flagicon Anand 3-4 Template:Flagicon Short 5-11 Template:Flagicon Sax Template:Flagicon Korchnoi Template:Flagicon Hübner Template:Flagicon Nikolić Template:Flagicon Yudasin Template:Flagicon Dolmatov Template:Flagicon Dreev |
Template:* Template:Flagicon Timman Template:* Template:Flagicon Yusupov Template:* Template:Flagicon Speelman Seeded in 2nd round: Template:* Template:Flagicon Karpov |
1991: One round of matches 14 players 1991: Template:* Template:Flagicon Karpov (joined winners in quarter-finals) Semi-finals (1992): Template:* Template:Flagicon Short beat Template:Flagicon Karpov |
Candidates winner: Template:*Template:Flagicon Short Defending champion: Template:* Template:Flagicon Kasparov |
London September–October 1993 24-game match Template:Flagicon Kasparov defeated Short 12½–7½ under the auspices of the PCA; |
| Candidates finalist: Template:* Template:Flagicon Timman Former world champion: Template:* Template:Flagicon Karpov |
Netherlands<ref>Zwolle (games 1-3) / Arnhem (games 4-6) / Amsterdam (games 7-12)</ref> /Jakarta<ref>(games 13-21)</ref> September–November 1993 24-game match Template:Flagicon Karpov defeated Timman 12½–8½ under the auspices of FIDE | |||||
| 1993–95 (PCA) |
Groningen December 1993 54 players Swiss 7 qualified |
1-2 Template:Flagicon Adams 1-2 Template:Flagicon Anand 3-7 Template:Flagicon Kamsky |
Template:Flagicon Short | 1994–95: 8 players, matches Semi-finals: Template:* Template:Flagicon Kamsky beat Template:Flagicon Short |
Candidates winner: Template:*Template:Flagicon Anand Defending PCA champion Template:* Template:Flagicon Kasparov |
New York City September–October 1995 20-game match Template:Flagicon Kasparov won 10½–7½ |
| 1993–96 (FIDE) |
Biel July 1993 73 players Swiss 10 qualified |
1 Template:Flagicon Gelfand 2-9 Template:Flagicon Van der Sterren 2-9 Template:Flagicon Kamsky 2-9 Template:Flagicon Khalifman 2-9 Template:Flagicon Adams 2-9 Template:Flagicon Yudasin 2-9 Template:Flagicon Salov 2-9 Template:Flagicon Lautier 2-9 Template:Flagicon Kramnik 10-15 Template:FlagiconAnand<ref>Epichine, Lputian, Shirov, Ivanchuk and I. Sokolov were eliminated by the tie-break (sum of the opponents Elo ratings).</ref> |
Template:* Timman Template:*Template:Flagicon Yusupov |
1994: Two rounds of matches 12 players |
Third round (Candidates final): Template:Flagicon Karpov beat Template:Flagicon Gelfand Template:Flagicon Kamsky beat Template:Flagicon Salov |
Elista 1996 20-game match Template:Flagicon Karpov won 10½–7½ |
| Seeded in third round (Candidates final): Template:* Template:Flagicon Karpov |
1995: Template:* Template:Flagicon Gelfand Template:* Template:Flagicon Kamsky Template:* Template:Flagicon Salov | |||||
Split titles (1997–2005)
After 1996, interzonals ceased to exist, but FIDE continued to organize qualifying zonal tournaments.
| Classical championships (1998–2004) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Years | Candidates format | Seeded into Candidates | Candidates Winner(s) | Seeded in Final | Championship Final | ||
| 1998 (Classical) | Cazorla, May–June 1998 10-game match |
Template:Flagicon Kramnik, Template:Flagicon Shirov (on rating)<ref>Anand, as a participant in the FIDE world championship cycle, believed he was contractually obligated to not participate in a rival cycle.</ref> |
Template:Flagicon Shirov won 5½–3½ | Template:Flagicon Kasparov (1995 champion) |
Match never took place | ||
| 2000 (Classical) | None | Two players seeded in final: Template:Flagicon Kasparov (1995 champion); Template:Flagicon Kramnik (on rating)<ref>Negotiations for a 1999 match with Shirov or Anand failed, as did negotiations in 2000, with Anand expressing dissatisfaction with the contract.</ref> |
London: October- November 2000 16-game match Template:Flagicon Kramnik won 8½–6½ | ||||
| 2002–2004 (Classical) | Dortmund July 2002 preliminaries: two four players double round robins; Semi-finals: the first from each group met the second from the other group in mini-matches |
Preliminaries:<ref>Kasparov declined the invitation, as did Anand and other players engaged in the FIDE championship.</ref> group 1: 1 Template:Flagicon Shirov 2 Template:Flagicon Topalov 3 Template:Flagicon Gelfand 4Template:Flagicon Lutz |
group 2: 1 Template:Flagicon Bareev |
Semi-finals: Template:Flagicon Leko beat Template:Flagicon Shirov and Template:Flagicon Topalov beat Template:Flagicon Bareev. |
Leko (beat Template:Flagicon Topalov in the final) |
Template:Flagicon Kramnik (2000 classical champion) |
Brissago: September–October 2004 14-game match drawn 7–7, Template:Flagicon Kramnik retained title |
| FIDE championships (1997–2005) | |||||||
| Years | Candidates format | Seeded into Candidates | Finalists | Championship Final | |||
| 1997–1998 (FIDE) | Groningen December 1997, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament Winner plays 6-game championship match against Karpov |
97 players,<ref>Top seed Kramnik refused to participate on the grounds that 1996 FIDE champion Karpov's direct entry into the final was unacceptable; 1995 classical champion Kasparov, 1996 finalist Kamsky and 1996 Women champion Susan Polgar refused in advance to participate.</ref> Quarter-finalists: Template:Flagicon Adams, Template:Flagicon Van Wely, Template:Flagicon Short, Template:Flagicon Krasenkov, Template:Flagicon Gelfand, Template:Flagicon Dreev, Template:Flagicon Anand and Template:Flagicon Shirov.<ref>Topalov, Ivanchuk, Beliavsky, Salov, Bareev, Georgiev, J. Polgar, Sadler, Akopian, Lautier were eliminated</ref> |
Template:Flagicon Anand (beat Template:Flagicon Adams in candidates final) Template:Flagicon Karpov (1996 FIDE champion) |
Lausanne: January 1998 6-game match Drawn 3–3; Template:Flagicon Karpov won rapid playoff 2–0 | |||
| 1999 (FIDE) | Las Vegas July–August 1999, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament |
100 players,<ref>1998 FIDE champion Karpov, 1998 FIDE finalist Anand (Anand was negotiating to play a match against Kasparov for his title) and 1995 classical champion Kasparov refused to participate</ref> Quarter-finalists: Template:Flagicon Kramnik, Template:Flagicon Adams, Template:Flagicon Movsesian, Template:Flagicon Akopian, Template:Flagicon Shirov, Template:Flagicon Nisipeanu, Template:Flagicon Khalifman and Template:Flagicon Template:Nowrap<ref>1998 classical championship candidates Shirov and Kramnik were eliminated by Nisipeanu and Adams in quarterfinals.</ref> |
Semi-finals (4-game matches): Template:Flagicon Khalifman beat Template:Flagicon Nisipeanu, |
Las Vegas 1999 6-game match Template:Flagicon Khalifman won 3½–2½ | |||
| 2000 (FIDE) | New Delhi (6 rounds)/final in Tehran November–December 2000 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament with final match played in Tehran |
100 players,<ref>Classical champions Kasparov, Kramnik and 1998 FIDE champion Karpov didn't participate</ref> Quarter-finalists: Template:Flagicon Anand, Template:Flagicon Khalifman, Template:Flagicon Adams, Template:Flagicon Topalov, Template:Flagicon Tkachiev, Template:Flagicon Grischuk, Template:Flagicon Shirov and Template:Flagicon Bareev<ref>Morozevich, Leko, Krasenkov, Kasimdzhanov, Svidler, Gelfand, Short, Smirin, Dreev, Azmaiparashvili, Rublevsky, Almasi, Xu Jun, Gurevich were eliminated</ref> |
Semi-finals (4-game matches): Template:Flagicon Anand beat Template:Flagicon Adams, Template:Flagicon Shirov beat Template:Flagicon Grischuk |
Tehran December 2000 6-game match Template:Flagicon Anand won 3½–½ | |||
| 2001–2002 (FIDE) | Moscow 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament with relatively quick time controls first part (6 rounds): 25 November – 14 December 2001 final: 16–24 January 2002 |
128 players,<ref>Classical champions Kramnik and Kasparov didn't participate. All other strongest players of the world took part, including former winners of the FIDE World Championship Anand, Khalifman (eliminated in third round) and Karpov (eliminated in first round).</ref> Quarter-finalists: Template:Flagicon Anand, Template:Flagicon Shirov, Template:Flagicon Ivanchuk, Template:Flagicon Lautier, Template:Flagicon Svidler, Template:Flagicon Gelfand, Template:Flagicon Ponomariov and Template:Flagicon Bareev |
Semi-finals (4-game matches): Template:Flagicon Ponomariov beat Template:Flagicon Svidler, |
Moscow January 2002 8-game match Template:Flagicon Ponomariov won 4½–2½<ref name="reunification">Reunification Match with Kasparov never took place</ref> | |||
| 2004 (FIDE) | Tripoli June–July 2004 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament with relatively quick time controls |
128 players,<ref>Kasparov, Anand, Kramnik, Svidler, Shirov, Ponomariov, Leko, J. Polgár, Gelfand, Bareev, Karpov and Israeli players refused to participate, Morozevich was absent before the first round</ref> Quarter-finalists: Template:Flagicon Topalov, Template:Flagicon Kharlov, Template:Flagicon Kasimdzhanov, Template:Flagicon Grischuk, Template:Flagicon Radjabov, Template:Flagicon Dominguez, Template:Flagicon Adams, Template:Flagicon Akopian<ref>Ivanchuk, Short, Malakhov, Nisipeanu, Sokolov, Dreev, Akopian, Bacrot, Gurevich, Rublevsky, were eliminated</ref> |
Semi-finals (4-game matches): Adams beat Radjabov, Template:Flagicon Kasimdzhanov beat |
Tripoli July 2004 6-game match drawn 3–3; Template:FlagiconKasimdzhanov won rapid playoff 1½–½<ref name="reunification" /> | |||
| FIDE World Chess Championship, 2005 | |||||||
| Year | Candidates format | Seeded in Final | Championship Final | ||||
| 2005 (FIDE) | None, 8 players seeded in final: | Template:Flagicon Kasimdzhanov (FIDE champion); Template:Flagicon Adams (as FIDE 2004 finalist); Template:Flagicon Leko (as classical 2004 finalist),<ref>Kramnik (as classical 2004 finalist) declined the invitation</ref> Template:Flagicon Morozevich (on rating), Topalov (on rating), Template:Flagicon Anand (on rating), Template:Flagicon J. Polgár (on rating) Template:Flagicon Svidler (on rating)<ref>Kasparov had retired from competition. Kramnik and Kasparov were replaced by J. Polgar and Svidler on rating.</ref> |
San Luis: 8 players, double round robin, September–October 2005 1 Template:Flagicon Topalov: 10/14 2-3 Template:Flagicon Anand 8½/14 2-3 Template:Flagicon Svidler 8½/14 4 Template:Flagicon Morozevich 7/14 | ||||
Reunified title (since 2006)
After the reunification of the FIDE and "classical" titles, the Chess World Cup and FIDE Grand Prix series were introduced as qualification for the Candidates Tournament. The Swiss-system FIDE Grand Swiss was introduced in the latter half of 2019, acting as another qualification path for the 2020 Candidates Tournament.<ref name="Grand Swiss">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
| Reunification Match | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Seeded in Final | Championship Match | |||||||
| 2006 | Topalov (FIDE champion), Kramnik (classical champion) |
Elista October 2006 12-game match drawn 6–6, Template:Flagicon Kramnik won rapid playoff 2½–1½ | |||||||
| World Chess Championships after the Reunification | |||||||||
| Years | Qualification format | Qualifiers | Seeded into Candidates | Candidates Format | Candidates Winner(s) | Seeded in Final | Championship Final | ||
| 2005–2007 | Chess World Cup 2005 Khanty-Mansiysk November–December 2005 128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament; + mini-matches to establish places 1 through 16. Top 10 qualified |
1 Template:Flagicon Ponomariov 2 Template:Flagicon Aronian 3 (Template:Flagicon Bacrot<ref>Bacrot was qualified on rating</ref>) 4 Template:Flagicon Grischuk 5 Template:Flagicon Bareev 6 Gelfand 7 Template:Flagicon Rublevsky 8 Template:Flagicon Gurevich 9 Template:Flagicon Kamsky 10 Template:Flagicon Carlsen 11Template:Flagicon Malakhov |
Template:Flagicon Kasimdzhanov (2004 FIDE champion) Template:Flagicon Leko, Template:FlagiconAdams, Template:Flagicon Polgár, Template:Flagicon Shirov, Template:Flagicon Bacrot |
Candidates Matches 2007 Elista: May–June 2007 16 players, two rounds of matches, 4 players qualify for championship tournament |
Aronian, Gelfand, Template:Flagicon Grischuk, Template:Flagicon Leko<ref>Aronian beat A.Shirov ; Leko beat Bareev ; Grischuk beat Rublevsky ; Gelfand beat Kamsky</ref> |
Template:Flagicon Anand, Template:Flagicon Svidler,
Template:FlagiconMorozevich |
Mexico City: September 2007 8 players, double round robin 1 Template:Flagicon Anand 9/14 2-3 Template:Flagicon Kramnik 8/14 2-3 Template:Flagicon Gelfand 8/14 | ||
| 2008 | Rematch | Template:Flagicon Kramnik,
Template:FlagiconAnand |
Bonn October 2008 12-game match Template:Flagicon Anand won 6½–4½ to retain the title. | ||||||
| 2007–2010 | Chess World Cup 2007 Khanty-Mansiysk November–December 2007 128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament 1st qualified |
Template:FlagiconKamsky (beat Shirov in the final). |
Template:Flagicon Topalov (2005 FIDE champion) |
Candidates Match 2009 Sofia February 2009, 8-game match |
Template:Flagicon Topalov beat Kamsky 4½–2½ | Template:Flagicon Anand (2008 champion) |
Sofia April–May 2010 12-game match Template:Flagicon Anand won 6½–5½ to retain the title. | ||
| 2008–2012 | FIDE Grand Prix 2008–2010 Top 2 qualified<ref name="Grischuk">Grischuk, third of FIDE Grand Prix, replaced Carlsen after he withdrew.</ref> |
Template:Flagicon Aronian, Template:Flagicon Radjabov | Template:FlagiconCarlsen (on rating) Template:Flagicon Grischuk (replacement of Carlsen)<ref name="Grischuk"/>Template:Flagicon Kramnik (on rating), Template:Flagicon Kamsky,<ref>2009 candidate, loser of the 2009 Challenger Match</ref> Template:Flagicon Topalov,<ref>2010 finalist, loser of 2010 World Chess Championship match</ref><ref>FIDE to move Candidates Matches, Topalov threatens boycott</ref> Template:Flagicon Mamedyarov (wildcard)<ref name="ReferenceA">Nominee of the organizing committee.</ref> |
Candidates Tournament 2011 Kazan, May 2011,<ref>chessbase.com; Pairings for Candidates Matches are released</ref> 8 players, matches Semifinals: Gelfand defeated Template:Flagicon Kamsky; Template:Flagicon Grischuk defeated Template:Flagicon Kramnik |
Template:Flagicon Gelfand (beat Template:Flagicon Grischuk in the final) | Template:Flagicon Anand (2010 champion) |
Moscow May 2012 12-game match drawn 6–6, Template:Flagicon Anand won rapid playoff 2½–1½ | ||
| Chess World Cup 2009 Khanty-Mansiysk November–December 2009 128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament 1st qualified |
Template:Flagicon Gelfand (beat
Ponomariov in the final) | ||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Chess World Cup 2011 Khanty-Mansiysk August–September 2011 128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament Top 3 qualified |
Template:Flagicon Svidler,
Template:Flagicon Grischuk, Template:Flagicon Ivanchuk |
Template:Flagicon Gelfand<ref>Loser of the 2012 World Championship match</ref> Template:Flagicon Carlsen, Template:Flagicon Aronian,
Template:Flagicon Kramnik (ratings)<ref>Top three rated players not already qualified</ref> |
Candidates Tournament 2013 London<ref name="FIDE Candidates Tournament 2013">Levitov announces FIDE plans for Candidates Tournament in the 2014 World Championship cycle</ref> March 2013 8 player double round-robin tournament |
Template:Flagicon Carlsen (won Candidates Tournament on tie breaks) |
Template:Flagicon Anand (2012 champion) |
Chennai, November 2013 12-game match Template:Flagicon Carlsen won 6½–3½ | ||
| 2012–2014 | FIDE Grand Prix 2012–2013 Top 2 qualified |
Template:Flagicon Topalov,
Template:Flagicon Mamedyarov |
Template:Flagicon Anand<ref>Loser of the 2013 World Championship match</ref> Template:Flagicon Aronian, Template:Flagicon Karjakin (ratings)<ref name="ReferenceB">Top two rated players not already qualified</ref> |
Candidates Tournament 2014 Khanty-Mansiysk,<ref>FIDE Calendar 2014</ref> March 2014<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Template:Flagicon Anand | Template:Flagicon Carlsen (2013 champion) |
Sochi, November 2014 12-game match Template:Flagicon Carlsen won 6½-4½ to retain the title | |
| Chess World Cup 2013 Tromsø August–September 2013 128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament Top 2 qualified |
Template:Flagicon Kramnik, Template:Flagicon Andreikin | ||||||||
| 2014–2016 | FIDE Grand Prix 2014–15 Top 2 qualified |
Template:Flagicon Caruana, | Template:Flagicon Anand<ref>Loser of the 2014 World Championship match</ref> Template:Flagicon Topalov, Template:Flagicon Giri (ratings)<ref name="2016announce" /> |
CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Candidates Tournament 2016 Moscow, March 2016 8 player double round-robin tournament |
Template:Flagicon Karjakin | Template:Flagicon Carlsen (2014 champion) |
New York City, November 2016 12-game match drawn 6–6 Template:Flagicon Carlsen won rapid playoff 3–1 to retain the title | |
| Chess World Cup 2015 Baku October 2015 128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament Top 2 qualified |
Template:Flagicon Karjakin, Template:Flagicon Svidler | ||||||||
| 2017–2018 | FIDE Grand Prix 2017 Top 2 qualified |
Template:FlagiconMamedyarov, Template:Flagicon Grischuk | Template:Flagicon Karjakin<ref>Loser of the 2016 World Championship match</ref> Template:Flagicon Caruana, Template:Flagicon So (ratings)<ref name="2018announce" /> |
Candidates Tournament 2018 Berlin, March 2018 8 player double round-robin tournament |
Template:Flagicon Caruana | Template:Flagicon Carlsen (2016 champion) |
London, November 2018 12-game match drawn 6–6 Template:Flagicon Carlsen won rapid playoff 3–0 to retain the title<ref name = "World Chess London">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | |
| Chess World Cup 2017 Tbilisi September 2017 128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament Top 2 qualified |
Template:Flagicon Aronian, Template:Flagicon Ding | ||||||||
| 2019–2021 | FIDE Grand Prix 2019 Top 2 qualified |
Template:Flagicon Grischuk, Template:FlagiconNepomniachtchi | Template:Flagicon Caruana<ref>Loser of the 2018 World Championship match</ref> Template:Flagicon Giri (ratings) Template:Flagicon Alekseenko (wildcard) Template:Flagicon Vachier-Lagrave (ratings, as replacement for Radjabov) |
Candidates Tournament 2020–21 Yekaterinburg, Mar-Apr 2020, Apr 2021 8 player double round-robin tournament |
Template:FlagiconNepomniachtchi | Template:Flagicon Carlsen (2018 champion) | Dubai, November–December 2021 14-game match Template:Flagicon Carlsen won to retain title, 7½–3½ | ||
| Chess World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk September–October 2019 128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament Top 2 qualified |
Template:Flagicon (Radjabov), Template:Flagicon Ding | ||||||||
| FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2019 Isle of Man, October 2019 Swiss tournament 1st qualified<ref name="Grand Swiss"/> |
Template:Flagicon Wang | ||||||||
| 2021–2023 | FIDE Grand Prix 2022 February–April 2022 Top 2 qualified |
Template:Flagicon Nakamura, Template:Flagicon Rapport | Template:Flagicon Nepomniachtchi<ref>Loser of the 2021 World Championship match</ref> Template:Flagicon Radjabov (wildcard) Template:Flagicon Ding (ratings, as replacement for Karjakin) |
Candidates Tournament 2022 8 player double round-robin tournament Madrid, June–July 2022 |
Template:FlagiconNepomniachtchi | Template:FlagiconDing (Candidates runner-up, as replacement for Carlsen) |
Astana, April–May 2023 14-game match<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
CitationClass=web
}}</ref> drawn 7–7 | |
| Chess World Cup 2021 Sochi July–August 2021 206 players, 8 round, mini-match, knockout tournament Top 2 qualified |
Template:Flagicon Duda,
Template:Flagicon(Karjakin)<ref>Disqualified by FIDE</ref> | ||||||||
| FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2021 Riga, October–November 2021 114-player Swiss tournament Top 2 qualified<ref name="Grand Swiss"/> |
Template:Flagicon Firouzja,
Template:Flagicon Caruana | ||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Chess World Cup 2023 Baku July-August 2023 |
CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
(Template:Flagicon Template:FlagiconPraggnanandhaaTemplate:Flagicon Caruana, Template:Flagicon Abasov (4th) |
Template:Flagicon Nepomniachtchi<ref>Loser of the 2023 World Championship match</ref> Template:Flagicon Firouzja (ratings) |
Candidates Tournament 2024 8 player double round-robin tournament Toronto, April 2024<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
Template:Flagicon Gukesh | Template:Flagicon Ding (2023 champion) | Singapore, November–December 2024 14-game match Template:Flagicon Gukesh won 7½–6½ |
| FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2023 Isle of Man October-November 2023 |
Template:Flagicon Vidit,
Template:Flagicon Nakamura | ||||||||
| FIDE Circuit 2023 1st qualified<ref name=fide24/> |
Template:Flagicon (Caruana<ref>Caruana qualified from the World Cup, so Gukesh qualified as the top player in the FIDE Circuit not already qualified</ref>) Template:Flagicon Gukesh | ||||||||
| 2024–2026 | FIDE Circuit 2024 1st qualified<ref name=fide26/> |
Template:Flagicon Caruana | Template:Flagicon Nakamura (ratings) | Candidates Tournament 2026 8 player double round-robin tournament Paphos, March–April 2026 |
Template:Flagicon Gukesh (2024 champion) | TBD | |||
| FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2025 Samarkand September 2025 109-player Swiss tournament Top 2 qualified<ref name=fide26/> |
Template:Flagicon Giri, | ||||||||
| Chess World Cup 2025 Goa October-November 2025 206 players, 8 round, mini-match, knockout tournament Top 3 qualify<ref name=fide26>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
||||||||
| FIDE Circuit 2025 1st qualifies<ref name=fide26/> |
|||||||||
| Years | Qualification format | Qualifiers | Seeded into Candidates | Candidates Format | Candidates Winner(s) | Seeded in Final | Championship Final | ||
See also
Notes
References
- FIDE World Championship events 1948-1990, Mark Weeks' chess pages
- World Championship events 1991-present, Mark Weeks' chess pages
- World Championships pages Template:Webarchive, Rybka Chess Community Forum
Template:Candidates Tournaments Template:World Chess Championships Template:Chess