2026 | |||
Defending champion | Challenger | ||
![]() | |||
![]() | ![]() | ||
Born 29 May 2006 | |||
Winner of the World Chess Championship 2024 | Winner of the Candidates Tournament 2026 | ||
The World Chess Championship 2026 will be a chess match to determine who will hold the World Chess Champion position. It will be played between the defending champion Gukesh Dommaraju and a challenger, who will be the winner of the Candidates Tournament 2026. The date and the host city are yet to be decided.
The challenger will qualify by winning the Candidates Tournament 2026.
The eight players to qualify to the Candidates Tournament will be: [1] [2]
Qualification method | Player | Age | Rating | World ranking |
---|---|---|---|---|
(June 2025) | ||||
2024 FIDE Circuit winner | ![]() | 32 | 2777 | 4 |
Top two finishers of the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss [a] | TBD | |||
TBD | ||||
Top three finishers of the 2025 FIDE World Cup [b] | TBD | |||
TBD | ||||
TBD | ||||
2025 FIDE Circuit winner [c] | TBD | |||
Highest average rating [d] (Aug 2025 – Jan 2026) | TBD |
Unlike any other Candidates Tournaments, and any FIDE World Championship cycle (except 1999–2004 during the split-title period), there is no automatic spot for the runner-up of the previous Championship (Ding Liren). [e] To compensate, the 2024 championship will be considered an eligible tournament for the FIDE Circuit, with the runner-up obtaining special bonus points for the 2025 FIDE Circuit based on the score. [1]