Candidates Tournament
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 as a triennial tournament; 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. After the FIDE World Chess Candidates tournament that took place in March 2018, the next one began in Yekaterinburg, Russia on 17 March 2020, but was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic after half the rounds had been played. It will be resumed at a later date not yet determined.[1]
Precursors
Before 1950, 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.
- 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,[2] which Lasker won.
- The AVRO 1938 chess tournament was held partly to choose a challenger for Alexander Alekhine.[3] 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 semi-finals, so the winner was the FIDE world champion.
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 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.
- Players listed after players in italics (Flohr in 1950, Benko in 1962, Geller, Ivkov and Portisch in 1965, Spassky in 1977, Grischuk in 2011 and Vachier-Lagrave in 2020) only qualified due to the non-participation (withdrawal) of the bracketed players or players with an asterisk.
The "Seeded into Final" column usually refers to the incumbent champion, but this has a different meaning for the World Chess Championship 1948, in which five players were seeded into the championship tournament, the Classical World Chess Championship 2000 in which two players were seeded into the championship final, the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 in which eight players were seeded into the final championship tournament, and the FIDE World Chess Championship 2007, in which four players were seeded into the final championship tournament.
Interzonal and Candidates tournaments (1948–1996)
Years | Interzonal Format | Interzonal Qualifiers | Seeded into Candidates | Candidates Format | Candidates Winner(s) | Seeded in Final | Championship Final |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1948 | None | In 1946–1947, FIDE decided that six players would participate to a tournament. FIDE selected Keres and Fine as the winners of the AVRO 1938 chess tournament which had been recognized as a Candidates tournament for the championship. Reshevsky was selected as multiple champion of the US, Botvinnik as Soviet champion, Euwe as former world champion and Smyslov was selected because he was one of the few Soviet grandmasters. Fine withdrew from the 1948 tournament. |
5 players, Botvinnik, Smyslov, Keres, Reshevsky, Euwe |
The Hague/ Moscow 1948 quintuple round robin, 1. Botvinnik 14 / 20 2. Smyslov 11 3.-4. Keres, Reshevsky 10½ 5. Euwe 4 | |||
1948–51 | Saltsjöbaden (Stockholm) 1948 20 players, single round robin, 8 qualified |
1. Bronstein, 2. Szabo, 3. Boleslavsky, 4. Kotov, 5. Lilienthal, 6.-9. Najdorf, Ståhlberg, (Bondarevsky[4]), Flohr |
Smyslov, Keres (Euwe, Fine, Reshevsky) |
Budapest 1950 10 players, double round robin 1.-2. Boleslavsky, Bronstein 3. Smyslov; 4. Keres |
Bronstein (won playoff match against Boleslavsky) |
Botvinnik (1948 champion) | Moscow 1951 24 games match Drawn 12–12, Botvinnik retained title |
1952–54 | Saltsjöbaden (Stockholm) 1952 21 players, single round robin, 8 qualified |
1. Kotov, 2.-3. Taimanov, Petrosian, 4. Geller, 5.-8. Averbakh, Ståhlberg, Szabo, Gligorić |
Bronstein, Boleslavsky, Smyslov, Keres, Reshevsky, Najdorf,[5] Euwe[6] | Zürich 1953 15 players, double round robin 1. Smyslov 2.-4. Bronstein, Keres, Reshevsky |
Smyslov | Botvinnik (1951 champion) | Moscow 1954 24 games match Drawn 12–12, Botvinnik retained title |
1955–57 | Gothenburg 1955 21 players, single round robin, 9 qualified |
1. Bronstein, 2. Keres, 3. Panno, 4. Petrosian, 5.-6. Geller, Szabo, 7-9. Filip, Pilnik, Spassky | Smyslov | Amsterdam 1956 10 players, double round robin 1. Smyslov 2. Keres |
Smyslov | Botvinnik (1954 champion) | Moscow 1957 Smyslov won 12½–9½ |
1958 | Rematch | Botvinnik, Smyslov | Moscow 1958 Botvinnik won 12½–10½ | ||||
1958–60 | Portorož 1958 21 players, single round robin, 6 qualified |
1. Tal, 2. Gligorić, 3.-4. Petrosian, Benko, 5.-6. Olafsson, Fischer |
Smyslov, Keres | Yugoslavia[7] 1959 8 players, quadruple round robin 1. Tal; 2. Keres; 3. Petrosian; 4. Smyslov |
Tal | Botvinnik (1958 champion) | Moscow 1960 Tal won 12½–8½ |
1961 | Rematch | Botvinnik, Tal | Moscow 1961 Botvinnik won 13–8 | ||||
1962–63 | Stockholm 1962 23 players, single round robin, 6 qualified |
1. Fischer, 2.-3. Geller, Petrosian, 4.-5. Korchnoi, Filip, 6.-8. Stein*, Benko[8] |
Tal, Keres | Curaçao 1962 8 players, quadruple round robin 1. Petrosian; 2. Keres;[9] 3. Geller; 4. Fischer |
Petrosian | Botvinnik (1961 champion) | Moscow 1963 Petrosian won 12½–9½ |
1964–66 | Amsterdam 1964 24 players, single round robin, 6 qualified |
1.-4. Smyslov, Larsen, Spassky, Tal, 5. Stein*, 6. Bronstein*, 7. Ivkov, 8.-9. Portisch[10] |
Keres, (Botvinnik), Geller | 1965: 8 players, matches Semi-finals: Spassky beat Geller Tal beat Larsen |
Spassky beat Tal in the final |
Petrosian (1963 champion) | Moscow 1966 Petrosian won 12½–11½ |
1967–69 | Sousse 1967 23 players, single round robin, 6 qualified |
1. Larsen, 2.-4. Korchnoi, Geller, Gligorić, 5. Portisch, 6.-8. Reshevsky[11] |
Spassky, Tal | 1968: 8 players, matches Semi-finals: Korchnoi beat Tal Spassky beat Larsen |
Spassky beat Korchnoi in the final |
Petrosian (1966 champion) | Moscow 1969 Spassky won 12½–10½ |
1970–72 | Palma de Mallorca 1970 24 players, single round robin, 6 qualified |
1. Fischer, 2.-4. Larsen, Geller, Hübner, 5.-6. Taimanov, Uhlmann |
Petrosian, Korchnoi | 1971: 8 players, matches Semi-finals: Petrosian beat Korchnoi Fischer beat Larsen |
Fischer beat Petrosian in the final |
Spassky (1969 champion) | Reykjavík 1972 Fischer won 12½–8½ |
1973–75 | 1973: Two 18 players, single round robin Interzonals; 3 qualified from each |
Leningrad 1973: 1.-2. Korchnoi, Karpov, 3. Byrne; |
Spassky, Petrosian | 1974: 8 players, matches Semi-finals : Korchnoi beat Petrosian Karpov beat Spassky |
Karpov beat Korchnoi in the final |
Fischer (1972 champion) | 1975: Karpov won on forfeit |
Petropolis 1973: 1.Mecking, 2.-4.: Portisch, Polugaevsky[12] | |||||||
1976–78 | 1976: Two 20 players, single round robin Interzonals; 3 qualified from each |
Biel 1976: 1. Larsen, 2.-4. Petrosian, Portisch[13] |
Korchnoi, (Fischer), Spassky | 1977-78: 8 players, matches Semi-finals : Korchnoi beat Polugaevsky Spassky beat Portisch |
Korchnoi beat Spassky in the final (1977–78) |
Karpov (1975 champion) | Baguio 1978 Karpov won 6–5 after 32 games (draws not counting) |
Manila 1976: 1. Mecking, 2.-3. Polugaevsky, Hort | |||||||
1979–81 | 1979: Two 18 players, single round robin Interzonals; 3 qualified from each |
Riga 1979: 1.-2. Tal, Polugaevsky, 3.-4. Adorján;[14] |
Korchnoi, Spassky | 1980: 8 players, matches Semi-finals: Korchnoi beat Polugaevsky Hübner beat Portisch |
Korchnoi beat Hübner in the final |
Karpov (1978 champion) | Meran 1981 Karpov won 6–2 after 18 games (draws not counting) |
Rio de Janeiro 1979: 1.-3. Portisch, Petrosian, Hübner | |||||||
1982–85 | 1982: Three 14 players, single round robin Interzonals; 2 qualified from each |
Las Palmas 1982: 1. Ribli, 2. Smyslov; |
Korchnoi, Hübner | 1983-84: 8 players, matches Semi-finals: Kasparov beat Korchnoi Smyslov beat Ribli |
Kasparov beat Smyslov in the final (1984) |
Karpov (1981 champion) | Moscow 1984-85 Unlimited match abandoned after 48 games with Karpov leading 5–3 (draws not counting) |
Toluca 1982: 1.-2. Portisch, Torre | |||||||
Moscow 1982: 1. Kasparov, 2. Beliavsky; | |||||||
1985 | Replay | Karpov, Kasparov | Moscow 1985 24 games match Kasparov won 13–11 | ||||
1986 | Rematch | Karpov, Kasparov |
London/Leningrad 1986 Kasparov won 12½–11½ | ||||
1985–87 | 1985: Three 16–18 players, single round robin Interzonals; 4 qualified from each |
Biel 1985: 1. Vaganian, 2. Seirawan, 3. Sokolov, 4.-6. Short;[15] |
Korchnoi, Ribli, Smyslov, Spassky[16] (seeded in tournament) Karpov (seeded in 1987 final) |
Montpellier 1985: 16 players, single round robin tournament, 1.-3. Yusupov, Sokolov, Vaganian, 4.-5. Timman[17] |
Linares 1987: Karpov beat matches winner (Sokolov) in the final. |
Kasparov (1985 champion) | Seville 1987 24 games match Drawn 12–12, Kasparov retained title |
Taxco 1985: 1. Timman, 2. Nogueiras, 3. Tal, 4. Spraggett; | |||||||
Tunis 1985: 1. Yusupov, 2. Beliavsky, 3. Portisch, 4.-5. Chernin[18] |
1986: 4 players played two rounds of matches: Yusupov beat Timman; Sokolov beat Vaganian and Yusupov. | ||||||
1987–90 | 1987: Three 17–18 players, single round robin Interzonals; 3 qualified from each |
Subotica 1987: 1.-3. Sax, Short, Speelman; |
Sokolov, Timman, Vaganian, Yusupov, Spraggett[16] Karpov (seeded in second round) |
1988: 14 players played one round of matches, 1989: Karpov joined winners in quarter finals Semi-finals (1989): Karpov beat Yusupov Timman beat Speelman |
Karpov beat Timman in the final (1990) |
Kasparov (1987 champion) | New York/Lyon 1990 Kasparov won 12½–11½ |
Szirák 1987: 1.-2. Salov, Hjartarson, 3.-4. Portisch;[19] | |||||||
Zagreb 1987: 1. Korchnoi, 2.-3. Seirawan, Ehlvest | |||||||
1990–93 | Manila 1990 64 players Swiss, 11 qualified |
1.-2. Gelfand, Ivanchuk, 3.-4. Anand, Short, 5.-11. Sax, Korchnoi, Hübner, Nikolić, Yudasin, Dolmatov, Dreev |
Timman, Yusupov, Speelman Karpov (seeded in second round) |
1991: 14 players, played one round of matches, 1991: Karpov joined winners in quarter-finals Semi-finals (1992): Short beat Karpov Timman beat Yusupov |
Short beat Timman in the final (1993) |
Kasparov (1990 champion) | London September–October 1993: Kasparov defeated Short 13–8 under the auspices of the PCA; |
Netherlands[20] /Jakarta[21] September–November 1993: Karpov defeated Timman 12½–8½ under the auspices of FIDE | |||||||
1993–95 (PCA) | Groningen December 1993 54 players Swiss, 7 qualified |
1.-2. Adams, Anand, 3.-7. Kamsky, Kramnik, Tiviakov, Gulko, Romanishin |
Short | 1994-95: 8 players, matches Semi-finals : Kamsky beat Short Anand beat Adams |
Anand beat Kamsky in the final (1995) |
Kasparov (1993 PCA champion) | New York September–October 1995 20 games match Kasparov won 10½–7½ |
1993–96 (FIDE) | Biel July 1993 73 players Swiss, 10 qualified |
1. Gelfand, 2.-9. Van der Sterren, Kamsky, Khalifman, Adams, Yudasin, Salov, Lautier, Kramnik, 10.-15. Anand[22] |
Timman, Yusupov | 1994: 12 players played two rounds of matches. | Semi-finals (February 1995): Karpov beat Gelfand, Kamsky beat Salov |
Elista 1996 20 games match Karpov won 10½–7½ | |
Karpov (seeded in the semi-finals) | 1995: Karpov joined winners (Gelfand, Kamsky, Salov) in the semi-finals. |
Split titles (1997–2006)
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 |
Kramnik, Shirov (on rating)[23] |
Shirov won 5½–3½ | Kasparov (1995 champion) |
Match never took place | ||
2000 (Classical) | None | Two players seeded in final: Kasparov (1995 champion); Kramnik (on rating)[24] |
London: October- November 2000 16-game match 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:[25] group 1: 1. Shirov, 2.Topalov, 3.Gelfand, 4.Lutz group 2: 1.Bareev, 2.Leko, 3.Adams, 4.Morozevich Semi-finals : Leko beat Shirov and Topalov beat Bareev. |
Leko (beat Topalov in the final) |
Kramnik (2000 classical champion) |
Brissago: September–October 2004 14-game match drawn 7–7, 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 |
100 players,[26] Quarter-finalists: Adams, Van Wely, Short, Krasenkov, Gelfand, Dreev, Anand and Shirov.[27] |
Anand (beat Adams in candidates final) Karpov (1996 FIDE champion) |
Lausanne: January 1998 6-game match Drawn 3–3; Karpov won rapid playoff 2–0 | |||
1999 (FIDE) | Las Vegas July–August 1999, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament |
100 players,[28] Quarter-finalists: Kramnik, Adams, Movsesian, Akopian, Shirov, Nisipeanu, Khalifman and J. Polgar[29] |
Semi-finals: Khalifman beat Nisipeanu, Akopian beat Adams |
Las Vegas 1999 6-game match 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,[30] Quarter-finalists: Anand, Khalifman, Adams, Topalov, Tkachiev, Grischuk, Shirov and Bareev[31] |
Semi-finals: Anand beat Adams, Shirov beat Grischuk |
Tehran December 2000 6-game match Anand won 3½–½ | |||
2001–2002 (FIDE) | Moscow November–December 2001 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament with relatively quick time controls |
128 players,[32] Quarter-finalists: Anand, Shirov, Ivanchuk, Lautier, Svidler, Gelfand, Ponomariov and Bareev |
Semi-finals: Ponomariov beat Svidler, Ivanchuk beat Anand |
Moscow January 2002 8-game match Ponomariov won 4½–2½[33] | |||
2004 (FIDE) | Tripoli June–July 2004 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament with relatively quick time controls |
128 players,[34] Quarter-finalists: Topalov, Kharlov, Kasimdzhanov, Grischuk, Radjabov, Dominguez, Adams, Akopian[35] |
Semi-finals: Adams beat Radjabov, Kasimdzhanov beat Topalov |
Tripoli July 2004 6-game match drawn 3–3; Kasimdzhanov won rapid playoff 1½–½[33] | |||
2005 (FIDE) | None | 8 players seeded in final: Kasimdzhanov (FIDE champion); Adams (as FIDE 2004 finalist); Anand, Morozevich, Topalov (on rating), Leko (as classical 2004 finalist),[36] J. Polgár and Svidler (on rating) |
San Luis: 8 players, double round robin, September–October 2005 1. Topalov : 10/14 2.-3. Anand and Svidler : 8½/14 4.Morozevich: 7/14 | ||||
Reunification | |||||||
2006 | Reunification match | Topalov (FIDE champion), Kramnik (classical champion) |
Elista October 2006 12-game match drawn 6–6, Kramnik won rapid playoff 2½–1½ |
Reunified title (since 2007)
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.[37]
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 qualify |
1.Ponomariov, 2.Aronian, (3.Bacrot,[38]) 4.Grischuk, 5.Bareev, 6.Gelfand, 7.Rublevsky, 8.Gurevich, 9.Kamsky, 10.Carlsen, 11.Malakhov |
Kasimdzhanov, Leko, Adams, J. Polgár (5th-8th of 2005 championship), Shirov, Bacrot (on rating) |
Candidates Matches 2007 Elista: May–June 2007 16 players, two rounds of matches, 4 players qualify for championship tournament |
Aronian, Gelfand, Grischuk, Leko[39] |
Anand, Svidler, Morozevich (2nd–4th in 2005); Kramnik[40] (2006 Champion) |
Mexico City: September 2007 8 players, double round robin 1. Anand 9/14 2.-3. Kramnik and Gelfand: 8/14 |
2008 | Rematch | Kramnik, Anand | Bonn October 2008 12-game match 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 |
Kamsky beat A. Shirov 2½-1½ in the final. |
Topalov (2005 FIDE champion) |
Candidates Match 2009 Sofia February 2009, 8-game match |
Topalov won 4½-2½ | Anand (2008 champion) |
Sofia April–May 2010 12-game match Anand won 6½–5½ to retain the title. |
2008–2012 | FIDE Grand Prix 2008–2010 2 qualified[41] |
Aronian, Radjabov (Grischuk)[41] |
(Carlsen) Grischuk,[41] Kramnik (on rating), Kamsky,[42] Topalov,[43][44] Mamedyarov[45] |
Candidates Tournament 2011 Kazan, May 2011,[46] 8 players, matches Semifinals: Gelfand defeated Kamsky; Grischuk defeated Kramnik |
Gelfand defeated Grischuk in the final 3½–2½ | Anand (2010 champion) |
Moscow May 2012 12-game match drawn 6–6, Anand won rapid playoff 2½–1½ |
Chess World Cup 2009 Khanty-Mansiysk November–December 2009 128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament (1st qualifies) |
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 three qualify) |
Svidler, Grischuk, Ivanchuk | Gelfand[47] Carlsen, Aronian, Kramnik[48] Radjabov[45] |
Candidates Tournament 2013 London[49] March 2013 8 player double round-robin tournament |
Carlsen (won Candidates Tournament on tie breaks) |
Anand (2012 champion) |
Chennai, November 2013 12-game match Carlsen won 6½–3½ |
2012–2014 | FIDE Grand Prix 2012–2013 2 qualified |
Topalov, Mamedyarov | Anand[50] Aronian, Karjakin[51] Svidler[45] |
Candidates Tournament 2014 Khanty-Mansiysk,[52] March 2014[53] 8 player double round-robin tournament |
Anand | Carlsen (2013 champion) |
Sochi, November 2014 12-game match 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 two qualify) |
Kramnik, Andreikin | ||||||
2014–2016 | FIDE Grand Prix 2014–15 2 qualified |
Caruana, Nakamura | Anand[54] Topalov, Giri (ratings)[55] Aronian (wildcard)[55] |
Candidates Tournament 2016 Moscow, March 2016 8 player double round-robin tournament |
Karjakin | Carlsen (2014 champion) |
New York, November 2016 12-game match drawn 6–6 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 two qualify) |
Svidler, Karjakin | ||||||
2017–2018 | FIDE Grand Prix 2017 Two qualify |
Mamedyarov, Grischuk | Karjakin[56] Caruana, So (ratings)[57] Kramnik (wildcard)[57] |
Candidates Tournament 2018 Berlin, March 2018 8 player double round-robin tournament |
Caruana | Carlsen (2016 champion) |
London, November 2018 12-game match drawn 6–6 Carlsen won rapid playoff 3–0 to retain the title[58] |
Chess World Cup 2017 Tbilisi September 2017 128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament (top two qualify) |
Aronian, Ding | ||||||
2019–2021 | FIDE Grand Prix 2019 Two qualify |
Grischuk, Nepomniachtchi | Caruana[59] Giri (ratings) Alekseenko (wildcard) Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (replacement for Radjabov) |
Candidates Tournament 2020-21 Yekaterinburg, Mar-Apr 2020 + TBD, spring 2021 8 player double round-robin tournament |
TBD | Carlsen (2018 Champion) | TBD, late 2021 14-game match |
Chess World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk September–October 2019 128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament (top two qualify) |
(Radjabov) Vachier-Lagrave, Ding | ||||||
FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2019 Isle of Man, October 2019 154-player Swiss tournament (top player qualifies)[37] |
Wang Hao | ||||||
Years | Qualification format | Qualifiers | Seeded into Candidates | Candidates Format | Candidates Winner(s) | Seeded in Final | Championship Final |
Notes
- https://en.candidates-2020.com/news_1_26-03-2020
- Israel Horowitz, From Morphy to Fischer, Batsford, 1973, page 52
- Israel Horowitz, From Morphy to Fischer, Batsford, 1973, page 116
- Bondarevsky was replaced in Candidates tournament because of illness
- from previous Candidates
- from 1948 Championship
- Bled, Zagreb, Beograd
- 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.
- after playoff match against Geller
- Portisch beat Reshevsky in play-off.
- Hort and Stein were eliminated having a worse Berger tie-break (Neustadtl score), the play-off had ended with all players having 4 / 8.
- Geller eliminated after play-off
- Tal eliminated after play-off
- Ribli eliminated after playoff
- Van Der Wiel and Torre eliminated after playoff
- chosen by the organizating federation
- Timman eliminated Tal in play-off
- Gavrikov eliminated after playoff
- Nunn eliminated after Playoff
- Zwolle (games 1-3) / Arnhem (games 4-6) / Amsterdam (games 7-12)
- (games 13-21)
- Epichine, Lputian, Shirov, Ivanchuk and I. Sokolov were eliminated by the tie-break (sum of the opponents Elo ratings).
- Anand, as a participant in the FIDE world championship cycle, believed he was contractually obligated to not participate in a rival cycle.
- Negotiations for a 1999 match with Shirov or Anand failed, as did negotiations in 2000, with Anand expressing dissatisfaction with the contract.
- Kasparov declined the invitation, as did Anand and other players engaged in the FIDE championship.
- 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 Z. Polgar refused in advance to participate. - Topalov, Ivanchuk, Beliavsky, Salov, Bareev, Georgiev, J. Polgar, Sadler, Akopian, Lautier were eliminated
- 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
- 1998 classical championship candidates Shirov and Kramnik were eliminated by Nisipeanu and Adams in quarterfinals.
- Classical champions Kasparov, Kramnik and 1998 FIDE champion Karpov didn't participate
- Morozevich, Leko, Krasenkov, Kasimdzhanov, Svidler, Gelfand, Short, Smirin, Dreev, Azmaiparashvili, Rublevsky, Almasi, Xu Jun, Gurevich were eliminated
- 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).
- Reunification Match with Kasparov never took place
- 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
- Ivanchuk, Short, Malakhov, Nisipeanu, Sokolov, Dreev, Akopian, Bacrot, Gurevich, Rublevsky, were eliminated
- Kramnik (as classical 2004 finalist) declined the invitation, and Kasparov, who had retired from competition, were replaced by J. Polgar and Svidler on rating
- "FIDE Grand Swiss update". FIDE. 19 February 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
- Bacrot was qualified on rating
- Aronian beat A.Shirov ; Leko beat Bareev ; Grischuk beat Rublevsky ; Gelfand beat Kamsky
- Topalov was replaced by Kramnik (2006 Champion)
- Grischuk, third of FIDE Grand Prix, replaced Carlsen after he withdrew.
- 2009 candidate, loser of the 2009 Challenger Match
- 2010 finalist, loser of 2010 World Chess Championship match
- FIDE to move Candidates Matches, Topalov threatens boycott
- Nominee of the organizing committee.
- chessbase.com; Pairings for Candidates Matches are released
- Loser of the 2012 World Championship match
- Top three rated players not already qualified
- Levitov announces FIDE plans for Candidates Tournament in the 2014 World Championship cycle
- Loser of the 2013 World Championship match
- Top two rated players not already qualified
- FIDE Calendar 2014
- FIDE announces dates for world chess championship cycles
- Loser of the 2014 World Championship match
- World Chess Candidates Tournament (FIDE)
- Loser of the 2016 World Championship match
- Kramnik to play 2018 Candidates
- World Chess London
- Loser of the 2018 World Championship match
References
- FIDE World Championship events 1948-1990, Mark Weeks' chess pages
- World Championship events 1991-present, Mark Weeks' chess pages
- World Championships pages, Rybka Chess Community Forum