Candidates 2024 confirms two more players

Vidit Gujrathi and Hikaru Nakamura topped the Grand Swiss, thereby earning a spot in the 2024 Candidates - the tournament to choose the person to compete with Dinh Lap Nhan for the Chess King title.

Vidit and Nakamura are the fifth and sixth players to qualify for the Candidates next year, after Ian Nepomniachtchi, Magnus Carlsen, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Fabiano Caruana. However, with 2023 World Cup winner Carlsen announcing he will not be taking part in the Candidates, the spot has gone to World Cup fourth-placed Nijat Abasov.

Hikaru Nakamura and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi draw in the eighth game of the Grand Swiss at the Isle of Man, UK on November 2, 2023. Photo: Chess — Hikaru Nakamura and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi draw in the eighth game of the Grand Swiss at the Isle of Man, UK on November 2, 2023. Photo: *Chess*

The Grand Swiss is the strongest Swiss Standard tournament of the year, featuring 114 players with an average Elo rating of 2,652. Despite losing the first game to Erwin L'Ami, Vidit scored 8.5 points in the remaining 10 games to win the tournament and receive $80,000. Nakamura finished second with 8 points, and an undefeated record, winning $60,000. According to the rules, the top two players in the Grand Swiss will qualify for the Candidates.

Vidit is currently India's third-ranked player, behind Viswanathan Anand and Praggnanandhaa. The 29-year-old has risen dramatically in the past few years, entering the world's top 20 for the first time. Nakamura, meanwhile, has risen to third place in the world after the Grand Swiss, qualifying for the Candidates for the second consecutive time.

Candidates is the most important individual tournament in the chess world, gathering eight players who passed the qualifying rounds to choose the challenger. Le Quang Liem is the highest Elo player currently who has never participated in Candidates.

Candidates 2024 has two spots left, one for the player with the highest Elo rating in January 2024, and the other for the player with the highest results in FIDE-recognized tournaments (FIDE Circuit) in 2023.

Alireza Firouzja (Elo 2,763) has a good chance of securing the Elo slot, although Anish Giri (2,754) and Wesley So (2,752) are hot on their heels. All three players are in the Sinquefield Cup 2023, which could decide the Elo slot. As for the FIDE Circuit slot, Gukesh Dommaraju is leading, but So and Giri are close behind. In the best case scenario, India could field three players in the Candidates, Praggnanandhaa, Vidit and Gukesh.

Candidates 2024 will take place from April 2 to April 25 in Toronto, Canada, with eight players playing a double round-robin. The winner will play the world chess final against Ding Liren at the end of 2024.

Xuan Binh

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