The Candidates Tournament is one week away. India’s Pranesh M punched his ticket to the Chess.com Open Playoffs. And a 16-year-old became the first woman to cross 3000 on Chess.com. Here is everything that mattered in chess this week.
Candidates 2026: One Week to Go, Humpy Weighs Withdrawal
The FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 begins March 28-29 in Paphos, Cyprus. Eight players in the Open section will compete in a double round-robin to determine who challenges World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju for the title later this year.
The Open field: Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, R Praggnanandhaa, Anish Giri, Wei Yi, Javokhir Sindarov, Andrey Esipenko, and Matthias Bluebaum. Caruana and Nakamura enter as the highest-rated. Praggnanandhaa carries Indian hopes.
The Women’s section features three Indian players: Vaishali Rameshbabu, Koneru Humpy, and Divya Deshmukh. But Humpy’s participation is uncertain. She has publicly raised safety concerns about the venue’s proximity to ongoing Middle East tensions, citing drone strikes in the region. FIDE has stated the event proceeds as planned and is offering alternative travel arrangements to players who request them.
If Humpy withdraws, India would still have two representatives in the Women’s Candidates. But losing a former Women’s World Rapid Champion from the field would be a significant absence. Read more about India’s Women’s Candidates contenders on the blog and Humpy’s career profile.
Not sure what the Candidates Tournament is? Here is a full explainer on the format and history. For a deep dive on the 2026 field, read the Candidates Tournament 2026 preview.
Chess.com Open: Pranesh M and Nepomniachtchi Qualify
The Chess.com Open 2026 continued its Play-In stage this week, and two more players booked Playoff spots.
Play-In 1 (March 16): Ian Nepomniachtchi won outright. Nodirbek Abdusattorov qualified second after beating Wesley So in a head-to-head match.
Play-In 2 (March 18): India’s Pranesh M qualified with 7.5/9, edging Wesley So on tiebreaks. Yu Yangyi took the second spot, also beating So in a playoff match. Full results from Chess.com.
Pranesh’s qualification is a big result for Indian chess. The 19-year-old GM has been on a steady rise, and earning a Playoff berth in a field that included So, Yu Yangyi, and other 2700-rated players confirms he belongs at the elite level.
Play-In 3 takes place Monday, March 23. Two more Playoff spots are up for grabs.
Alice Lee: First Woman to Break 3000 on Chess.com
On March 17, 16-year-old IM Alice Lee reached a bullet rating of 3002 on Chess.com, becoming the first female player to cross 3000 in any time control on the platform.
Lee went from 2927 to 3002 over a 43-game session on March 16 plus two more games on March 17. The second-highest female bullet rating on Chess.com belongs to Vaishali Rameshbabu at 2948. The gap between Lee and the rest of the field underscores how far ahead she is in online speed chess among women players.
At 16, Lee is already one of the strongest female players in the world in both classical and online formats. She won the American Cup Women’s section earlier this month. This 3000 milestone, while an online rating, signals the kind of calculation speed and tactical sharpness that translates to serious over-the-board results.
What to Watch Next Week
Chess.com Open Play-In 3 (March 23): Two more qualifiers will be decided. The field has not been announced yet.
Candidates Tournament Round 1 (March 29, Paphos, Cyprus): The first games of the Open and Women’s Candidates. This is the most important chess event of the spring. The winner of the Open section challenges Gukesh for the World Championship.
Follow all Candidates games, standings, and results live at shatranj.live/candidates.
Results sourced from Chess.com and FIDE. Candidates field confirmed by FIDE. Standings current as of March 22, 2026.
