GM Javokhir Sindarov has won the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament with a round to spare after a draw against GM Anish Giri in round 13. More importantly than the €70,000 prize, he will be the next challenger to GM Gukesh Dommaraju for the world title. GM Wei Yi won the only decisive game, against GM Andrey Esipenko. GM Fabiano Caruana missed a win against GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu just before move 40, resulting in a draw, and GM Hikaru Nakamura vs. GM Matthias Bluebaum also ended in a draw.
Six players can still win the 2026 FIDE Women’s Candidates going into the final round, with GMs Bibisara Assaubayeva and Vaishali Rameshbabu in the joint lead on 7.5/13. Assaubayeva beat GM Anna Muzychuk with White while Vaishali escaped with Black against GM Tan Zhongyi. GM Zhu Jiner was pushing to take the sole lead by overcoming GM Aleksandra Goryachkina, but overpressed and fell to a shock defeat to leave her half a point off the pace. GM Kateryna Lagno’s win over GM Divya Deshmukh still leaves her with chances of reaching a playoff.
This is a flash report—come back later for full coverage of Round 13!
The final round is on Wednesday, April 15, starting at 8:45 a.m. ET / 14:45 CEST / 6:15 p.m. IST.
FIDE Candidates: Sindarov Clinches
A draw was enough for Sindarov to win the tournament. Wei scored his second win of the event in the only decisive game.
Candidates Round 13 Results
Sindarov is now uncatchable, but there’s still another round to play.
Candidates Standings After Round 13
In his last game, Sindarov will have White against Wei. If he draws, he will achieve the highest score in Candidates history by half a point, breaking the current record held by GM Ian Nepomniachtchi.
Candidates Round 14 Pairings
FIDE Women’s Candidates: Assaubayeva Catches Vaishali In Lead
We got three decisive games in the penultimate round, and it could easily have been four.
Women’s Candidates Round 13 Results
Only Tan and Divya are completely out of the running to win the Women’s FIDE Candidates, while leaders Assaubayeva and Vaishali can be caught by any of the four players behind them.
Women’s Candidates Standings After Round 13
GM Rafael Leitao analyzes the Game of the Day below.
Anything could happen in the final round, but Vaishali (White vs. Lagno) and Assaubayeva (Black vs. Divya) have their fate in their own hands—if they win, they will at least reach a playoff for the title. If they draw, only Zhu can catch them.
FIDE Women’s Candidates: Round 14 Pairings
Colin McGourty contributed to this report.
You can watch the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament on Chess24’s YouTube and Twitch channels. The games can also be followed from our Events Page.
The FIDE Candidates Tournament is the most important FIDE tournament of the year. In the Open and Women’s events, eight players play each other twice for the right to challenge the FIDE World Champions Gukesh Dommaraju and Ju Wenjun to a match for the title.
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