Candidates Tournament 2026 Pairings: All 14 Rounds

When the drawing ceremony concluded in Cyprus last month, one result stood out immediately in the Open section: Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura, the two highest-rated players in the field, are paired in Round 1 at the board together.

These are the Candidates Tournament 2026 pairings. The full schedule runs 14 rounds, March 29 through April 15, at the Cap St Georges Hotel in Pegeia, Cyprus. Below is the complete pairing list for both the Open and Women’s sections.

Follow all Candidates 2026 standings and results live at shatranj.live/candidates as each round plays out.

Open Candidates 2026: Complete Pairings by Round

Eight players, 14 rounds, one challenger spot for World Chess Champion Gukesh Dommaraju. In each pairing, the first-named player has White.

Players: Fabiano Caruana (USA, ~2805), Hikaru Nakamura (USA, ~2794), Anish Giri (Netherlands, ~2779), Praggnanandhaa R (India, ~2776), Javokhir Sindarov (Uzbekistan, ~2753), Wei Yi (China, ~2748), Matthias Bluebaum (Germany, ~2722), Andrey Esipenko (FIDE, ~2720)

Round 1 — March 29, 2026

Caruana vs. Nakamura in the very first round is the draw’s headline result. Two Americans, two top-five seeds, meeting before anyone has any points on the board.

“Playing Nakamura in Round 1 with White — it doesn’t get tougher than that as an opener. But it also means you can set the tone for your whole tournament right away. There’s no easing in.” — Fabiano Caruana, World Chess Championship Challenger 2018 and top seed at Candidates 2026, on the Round 1 draw

Round 2 — March 30, 2026

Round 3 — March 31, 2026

Round 4 — April 1, 2026

Round 5 — April 3, 2026

Round 6 — April 4, 2026

Round 7 — April 5, 2026

Round 8 — April 7, 2026

The second Caruana–Nakamura clash, this time with colors reversed. Nakamura has White.

Round 9 — April 8, 2026

Round 10 — April 9, 2026

Round 11 — April 11, 2026

Round 12 — April 12, 2026

Round 13 — April 14, 2026

Caruana–Nakamura play twice (Rounds 1 and 8). Caruana also faces Praggnanandhaa twice, in Rounds 7 and 13 — the penultimate round rematch with colors reversed.

Round 14 — April 15, 2026

Women’s Candidates 2026: Complete Pairings by Round

Three Indian players, two Chinese, two playing under the FIDE flag, one from Kazakhstan. The Women’s Candidates 2026 runs alongside the Open event on the same days, same venue, same time controls.

Players: Zhu Jiner (China, ~2578), Koneru Humpy (India, ~2535), Tan Zhongyi (China, ~2535), Aleksandra Goryachkina (FIDE, ~2534), Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan, ~2516), Kateryna Lagno (FIDE, ~2508), Divya Deshmukh (India, ~2497), Vaishali Rameshbabu (India, ~2470)

Round 1 — March 29, 2026

Goryachkina and Zhu Jiner — the two highest-rated players in the Women’s section — both open with White in Round 1.

Round 2 — March 30, 2026

Round 3 — March 31, 2026

Round 4 — April 1, 2026

Round 5 — April 3, 2026

Round 6 — April 4, 2026

Zhu Jiner vs. Humpy and Tan Zhongyi vs. Goryachkina in the same round — the top seeds collide in Round 6.

Round 7 — April 5, 2026

Vaishali vs. Tan Zhongyi — Tan won the 2024 Women’s Candidates in Toronto and knows exactly how to navigate this format.

Round 8 — April 7, 2026

Round 9 — April 8, 2026

Round 10 — April 9, 2026

Round 11 — April 11, 2026

Round 12 — April 12, 2026

Round 13 — April 14, 2026

Round 14 — April 15, 2026

“A draw that puts the two highest-rated players in Round 1 is never a coincidence in chess — it is fate. The rest of the field gets to watch from the sidelines as the heavyweights settle accounts early.” — Anish Giri, Dutch Grandmaster and Candidates 2026 participant, on the Round 1 Caruana–Nakamura pairing

Tournament Schedule and Rest Days

All rounds start at 15:30 CET (21:00 IST). Four rest days are built into the schedule across the 18-day event.

Where to Follow the Candidates 2026 Live

Live standings for both the Open and Women’s sections are at shatranj.live/candidates. Standings update automatically as games finish.

For player and tournament background:

• Candidates Tournament 2026 preview — full player list, ratings, qualification paths
• What is the Candidates Tournament? — format, history, and how a challenger is decided
• India at Candidates 2026 — full schedule and key matchups — Pragg, Humpy, Vaishali, and Divya round by round

The official FIDE Candidates 2026 event page has venue details and the original pairing draw announcement.