Overview
- The Indian grandmaster tied for first with 7/9 in the London Chess Classic Open, earning 8.17 FIDE Circuit points that put the race out of reach.
- Nodirbek Abdusattorov’s stellar triumph in the London Elite earned 19.62 points and a sky‑high TPR, yet he still could not catch the leader.
- A season of consistency anchored the result, with titles at Tata Steel Masters, Superbet Chess Classic Romania and the UzChess Cup Masters.
- Seven of eight Candidates slots are confirmed as Praggnanandhaa joins Anish Giri, Fabiano Caruana, Matthias Blübaum, Javokhir Sindarov, Wei Yi and Andrey Esipenko, leaving one place to fill under FIDE rules.
- The Candidates will run March 28–April 16, 2026 in Pegeia, Cyprus, and its winner will challenge world champion D Gukesh for the title.