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{{short description|International chess tournament}}{{For|the most recent Candidates Tournament|Candidates Tournament 2024}}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. The latter half of the 2020 Candidates Tournament was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was only played in April 2021.WEB,en.candidates-2020.com/news_1_26-03-2020, FIDE Stops the Candidates Tournament, FIDE resumes the Candidates Tournament, FIDE, February 16, 2021 The next tournament, the 2022 Candidates Tournament, took place as scheduled in 2022.Emilchess on Twitter, Twitter, April 28, 2021

Precursors

Before 1950, the champion had the right to handpick a challenger. However, 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. Steinitz won, making him the first official world champion.
• 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,Israel Horowitz, From Morphy to Fischer, Batsford, 1973, page 52 which Lasker won.
• The AVRO 1938 chess tournament was held partly to choose a challenger for Alexander Alekhine.Israel Horowitz, From Morphy to Fischer, Batsford, 1973, page 116 Paul Keres won on tie-breaks, but World War II prevented the match from happening.

Organization

File:ChessCandidatesTournamentAmsterdam1956.jpg|thumb|(Amsterdam 1956 chess tournament|Candidates Tournament 1956 Amsterdam]]: 10 players)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 2024, and Radjabov in 2020) qualified for the Candidates or were seeded in the Candidates, but did not or do not plan to 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.
• Karjakin in 2022 was disqualified by FIDE after his qualification for the Candidates: the FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission ruled that he breached Article 2.2.10 of the FIDE Code of Ethics after he made public comments approving of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. He is shown bracketed, in italics, and with an asterisk.
• Players listed after players in italics (Flohr in 1950, Benko in 1962, Geller, Ivkov and Portisch in 1965, Spassky in 1977, Grischuk in 2011, Vachier-Lagrave in 2020, and Ding in 2022) only qualified due to the non-participation (withdrawal) of the bracketed players or players with an asterisk.
• Incumbent champions’ names are struck through when they refused to defend their title (Fischer in 1975 and Carlsen in 2023).

Normally, the incumbent champion is seeded directly into the final against the challenger (who had to pass through the Candidates qualification), but there have been exceptions:

• The World Chess Championship 1948, in which five players were seeded into the championship tournament (the previous champion, Alexander Alekhine, having died in 1946). A sixth player, Fine, was also seeded into the championship tournament but chose not to play; he is shown in brackets.
• The FIDE World Chess Championship 1996, in which the FIDE World Champion Anatoly Karpov was seeded in the Candidates semi-finals (not finals).
• The Classical World Chess Championship 2000, in which two players were seeded into the championship final (one of them being incumbent champion Kasparov), and there were no previous qualifying stages. In this way, it resembled the pre-1946 events, in which the champion could handpick a challenger.
• The FIDE championships of 1999–2004 (during the split-title period), in which the incumbent champion had no special privileges.
• The FIDE World Chess Championship 2005, in which eight players (including incumbent FIDE champion Kasimdzhanov) were seeded into the final championship tournament.
• The FIDE World Chess Championship 2007, in which four players (including incumbent champion Kramnik) were seeded into the final championship tournament.

The incumbent champion Bobby Fischer refused to defend his title at the World Chess Championship 1975, and his challenger Anatoly Karpov won by forfeit (at the time, the Candidates was a knock-out event, so the 1974 Karpov–Korchnoi Candidates final match – a best of 24 games, like world championships in the period 1951–1972 and 1985–1993 – arguably became a de facto world championship in retrospect). Magnus Carlsen refused to defend his title at the World Chess Championship 2023 and was replaced by the runner-up of the Candidates Tournament, Ding Liren.

Interzonal and Candidates tournaments (1948–1996)

{{clear}}{| class=wikitable style="white-space:nowrap;“|+ World Championship selection cycles from 1948 to 1996! Year! colspan=5 | Selection of participants! colspan=1 | Championship

World Chess Championship 1948>1948	In 1946–1947, FIDE planned the 1948 championship tournament, selecting six notable players for the reasons shown. Fine withdrew from the tournament.	AVRO 1938 chess tournament>1938 AVRO winners:{{*}} Paul Keres	{{*}} (Reuben Fine>Fine)Former world champion:{{*}} Euwe	Samuel Reshevsky>ReshevskySoviet Champion:{{*}} Mikhail Botvinnik	Soviet grandmaster:{{*}} Vasily Smyslov>Smyslov| The Hague/ Moscow 1948 Quintuple round robin:1 Botvinnik 14/202 Smyslov 113-4 Keres 10½3-4 Reshevsky 10½5 Euwe 4

! rowspan=2 | Year! colspan=2 | Interzonal tournaments! colspan=2 | Candidates tournaments! colspan=2 | Championship ! Format! Results! Seeded! Results! Contestants! Results

World Chess Championship 1951>1948–51	Interzonal tournament, Saltsjöbaden 1948>Saltsjöbaden (Stockholm) 1948:Single round robin20 players 8 qualified	David Bronstein>Bronstein 2 László Szabó (chess player)	3 Isaac Boleslavsky>Boleslavsky 4 Alexander Kotov	5 Andor Lilienthal>Lilienthal6-9 Miguel Najdorf	6-9 Gideon StÃ¥hlberg>StÃ¥hlberg6-9 (’’Igor Bondarevsky	’’Bondarevsky was replaced in Candidates tournament because of illness)6-9 Salo Flohr>Flohr	Paul Keres>Keres {{*}} (’’Max Euwe	) {{*}} (Reuben Fine>Fine) {{*}} (Reshevsky’’)	Budapest 1950Double round robin10 players1-2 Boleslavsky 1-2 Bronstein3 Smyslov4 KeresPlayoff:{{*}} Bronstein beat Isaac Boleslavsky>Boleslavsky| Candidates winner:{{*}} BronsteinDefending champion:{{*}} Botvinnik| Moscow 195124 games matchDrawn 12–12 Botvinnik retained title

World Chess Championship 1954>1952–54| Saltsjöbaden (Stockholm) 1952Single round robin 21 players8 qualified	Mark Taimanov>Taimanov 2-3 Tigran Petrosian	4 Efim Geller>Geller 5-8 Yuri Averbakh	5-8 Ståhlberg 5-8 Szabo 5-8 Svetozar Gligorić>Gligorić	Isaac Boleslavsky>Boleslavsky {{*}} Smyslov {{*}} Keres {{*}} Reshevsky {{*}} Miguel Najdorf	from previous Candidates {{*}} Euwefrom World Chess Championship 1948>1948 Championship	Zurich 1953 chess tournament>Zürich 1953 Double round robin15 players1 Smyslov 2-4 Bronstein 2-4 Keres 2-4 Reshevsky| Candidates winner:{{*}} SmyslovDefending champion:{{*}} Botvinnik| Moscow 195424 games matchDrawn 12–12 Botvinnik retained title

World Chess Championship 1957>1955–57| Gothenburg 1955Single round robin21 players 9 qualified	Paul Keres>Keres 3 Oscar Panno	4 Petrosian 5-6 Geller 5-6 Szabo 7–9 Miroslav Filip>Filip 7–9 Hermann Pilnik	7–9 Boris Spassky>Spassky| Smyslov	Amsterdam 1956 chess tournament>Amsterdam 1956Double round robin10 players 1 Smyslov2 Keres| Candidates winner:{{*}} SmyslovDefending champion:{{*}} Botvinnik| Moscow 1957Smyslov won 12½–9½

World Chess Championship 1958>1958	Rematch| {{*}} Botvinnik{{*}} Smyslov| Moscow 1958Botvinnik won 12½–10½

World Chess Championship 1960>1958–60| Portorož 1958Single round robin21 players 6 qualified	Mikhail Tal>Tal 2 Gligorić3-4 Petrosian 3-4 Pal Benko	5-6 Friðrik Ólafsson>Olafsson 5-6 Fischer| {{*}} Smyslov{{*}} Keres| YugoslaviaBled, Zagreb, Beograd 1959Quadruple round robin8 players 1 Tal 2 Keres 3 Petrosian 4 Smyslov| Candidates winner:{{*}} TalDefending champion:{{*}} Botvinnik| Moscow 1960Tal won 12½–8½

World Chess Championship 1961>1961	Rematch| {{*}} Botvinnik{{*}} Tal| Moscow 1961Botvinnik won 13–8

World Chess Championship 1963>1962–63| Stockholm 1962Single round robin23 players 6 qualified	Victor Korchnoi>Korchnoi 4-5 Filip 6-8 Stein* 6-8 BenkoIn 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.| {{*}} Tal{{*}} Keres| Curaçao 1962Quadruple round robin8 players 1 Petrosian; 2 Keresafter playoff match against Geller 3 Geller 4 Fischer	Tigran Petrosian>PetrosianDefending champion:{{*}} Botvinnik| Moscow 1963Petrosian won 12½–9½

World Chess Championship 1966>1964–66| Amsterdam 1964Single round robin24 players 6 qualified	Bent Larsen>Larsen 1-4 Spassky 1-4 Tal5 Stein* 6 Bronstein* 7 Ivkov 8-9 PortischPortisch beat Reshevsky in play-off.	Mikhail Botvinnik>Botvinnik) {{*}} Geller	Boris Spassky>Spassky beat Tal	Boris Spassky>SpasskyDefending champion:{{*}} Petrosian| Moscow 1966Petrosian won 12½–11½

World Chess Championship 1969>1967–69| Sousse 1967Single round robin23 players 6 qualified	Samuel Reshevsky>ReshevskyHort and Stein were eliminated having a worse Berger tie-break (Neustadtl score), the play-off had ended with all players having 4 / 8.	Boris Spassky>Spassky {{*}}Tal| 1968: 8 players, matchesSemi-finals:{{*}} Korchnoi beat Tal{{*}} Spassky beat LarsenFinals:{{*}} Spassky beat Korchnoi| Champions winner:{{*}} SpasskyDefending champion:{{*}} Petrosian| Moscow 1969Spassky won 12½–10½

World Chess Championship 1972>1970–72| Palma de Mallorca 1970Single round robin 24 players 6 qualified	Robert Hübner>Hübner 5-6 Taimanov 5-6 Uhlmann	Tigran Petrosian>Petrosian {{*}}Korchnoi| 1971: 8 players, matchesSemi-finals: {{*}} Petrosian beat Korchnoi{{*}} Fischer beat LarsenFinals:{{*}} Fischer beat Petrosian	Boris Spassky>Spassky| Reykjavík 1972Fischer won 12½–8½

1973–75	1973:Two single round robins18 players each 3 qualified from each	Leningrad 1973:1-2 Korchnoi 1-2 Anatoly Karpov>Karpov 3 Byrne	{{*}} Spassky {{*}} Petrosian	1974: 8 players, matchesSemi-finals:{{*}} Korchnoi beat Petrosian{{*}} Karpov beat Spassky Finals:{{*}} Karpov beat Korchnoi	Candidates winner:{{*}} KarpovDefending champion:{{*}} (Fischer)	1975:Karpov won on forfeit

Petropolis 1973: 1 Henrique Mecking>Mecking 2-4 Portisch 2-4 PolugaevskyGeller eliminated after play-off

1976–78	1976:Two single round robins20 players each 3 qualified from each| Biel 1976: 1 Larsen 2-4 Petrosian 2-4 PortischTal eliminated after play-off	{{*}} Korchnoi {{*}}(Fischer) {{*}}Spassky	1977: 8 players, matchesSemi-finals:{{*}} Korchnoi beat Polugaevsky{{*}} Spassky beat PortischFinals:{{*}} Korchnoi beat Spassky	Candidates winner:{{*}} KorchnoiDefending champion:{{*}} Karpov	Baguio 1978Karpov won 6–5after 32 games (draws not counting)

Manila 1976:1 Mecking 2-3 Polugaevsky 2-3 Vlastimil Hort>Hort

1979–81	1979:Two single round robins18 players each3 qualified from each	Riga 1979:1-2 Tal 1-2 Polugaevsky 3-4 András Adorján>AdorjánRibli eliminated after playoff	{{*}} Korchnoi {{*}}Spassky	1980: 8 players, matchesSemi-finals: {{*}} Korchnoi beat Polugaevsky{{*}} Hübner beat PortischFinals:{{*}} Korchnoi beat Hübner	Candidates winner:{{*}} KorchnoiDefending champion: {{*}} Karpov	Meran 1981 Karpov won 6–2after 18 games (draws not counting)

|Rio de Janeiro 1979: 1-3 Portisch 1-3 Petrosian 1-3 Hübner

1982–85	1982:Three single round robins 14 players each2 qualified from each	Las Palmas 1982:1 Zoltán Ribli>Ribli 2 Smyslov	{{*}} Korchnoi {{*}}Hübner	1983–84: 8 players, matchesSemi-finals: {{*}} Kasparov beat Korchnoi{{*}} Smyslov beat RibliFinals, 1984:{{*}} Kasparov beat Smyslov	Candidates winner:{{*}} KasparovDefending champion:{{*}} Karpov	Moscow 1984–85Unlimited match abandoned after 48 games with Karpov leading 5–3 (draws not counting)

Toluca 1982:1-2 Portisch 1-2 Eugene Torre>Torre

Garry Kasparov>Kasparov 2 Beliavsky

World Chess Championship 1985>1985	Replay|{{*}} Karpov{{*}} Kasparov| Moscow 198524 games matchKasparov won 13–11

World Chess Championship 1986>1986	Rematch|{{*}} Karpov{{*}} Kasparov| London/Leningrad 1986 Kasparov won 12½–11½

1985–87	1985:3 single round robins 16–18 players each4 qualified from each	Biel 1985: 1 Rafael Vaganian>Vaganian 2 Yasser Seirawan	3 Andrei Sokolov>Sokolov 4-6 ShortVan Der Wiel and Torre eliminated after playoff	Seeded in tournament: {{*}} Korchnoi {{*}} Zoltán Ribli	{{*}} Vasily Smyslov>Smyslov {{*}} Spasskychosen by the organizating federationSeeded in 1987 final:{{*}} Karpov	Montpellier 1985: Single round robin tournament 16 players1-3 Yusupov 1-3 Sokolov 1-3 Vaganian 4-5 TimmanTimman eliminated Tal in play-off1986:Two rounds of matches4 players{{*}} Yusupov beat Timman{{*}} Sokolov beat Vaganian and Yusupov.Finals, Linares, 1987:{{*}} Karpov beat matches winner Sokolov	Candidates winner:{{*}} KarpovDefending champion:{{*}} Kasparov	Seville 198724 games matchDrawn 12–12 Kasparov retained title

Taxco 1985:1 Jan Timman>Timman 2 Jesús Nogueiras	3 Tal 4 Kevin Spraggett>Spraggett;

Tunis 1985:1 Artur Yusupov (chess player)>Yusupov 2 Beliavsky 3 Portisch 4-5 CherninGavrikov eliminated after playoff

1987–90	1987:Three single round robins17–18 players each3 qualified from each	Subotica 1987:1-3 Gyula Sax>Sax 1-3 Short 1-3 Speelman;	{{*}} Andrei Sokolov	{{*}} Timman {{*}} Rafael Vaganian>Vaganian {{*}} Yusupov {{*}} SpraggettSeeded in 2nd round: {{*}} Karpov	1988: One round of matches14 players1989: {{*}} Karpov(joined winners in quarter finals)Semi-finals (1989):{{*}} Karpov beat Yusupov{{*}} Timman beat SpeelmanFinals (1990):{{*}} Karpov beat Timman	Candidates winner:{{*}} KarpovDefending champion:{{*}} Kasparov	New York City/Lyon 1990Kasparov won 12½–11½

Nógrád County>Szirák 1987:1-2 Valery Salov	1-2 Jóhann Hjartarson>Hjartarson 3-4 PortischNunn eliminated after Playoff

Zagreb 1987:1 Korchnoi 2-3 Seirawan 2-3 Jaan Ehlvest>Ehlvest

1990–93	Manila 199064 players Swiss 11 qualified	1-2 Boris Gelfand	1-2 Vassily Ivanchuk>Ivanchuk3-4 Viswanathan Anand	3-4 Short 5-11 Sax 5-11 Korchnoi 5-11 Hübner 5-11 Predrag Nikolić>Nikolić 5-11 Leonid Yudasin	5-11 Sergey Dolmatov>Dolmatov 5-11 Dreev	{{*}} Timman {{*}} Yusupov {{*}} SpeelmanSeeded in 2nd round: {{*}} Karpov	1991:One round of matches 14 players1991:{{*}} Karpov(joined winners in quarter-finals)Semi-finals (1992): {{*}} Short beat Karpov{{*}} Timman beat YusupovFinals (1993):{{*}} Short beat Timman| Candidates winner:{{*}} ShortDefending champion:{{*}} Kasparov	Kasparov defeated Short 12½–7½ under the auspices of the Professional Chess Association>PCA;

| Candidates finalist:{{*}} TimmanFormer world champion:{{*}} Karpov|NetherlandsZwolle (games 1-3) / Arnhem (games 4-6) / Amsterdam (games 7-12) /Jakarta(games 13-21) September–November 1993: Karpov defeated Timman 12½–8½ under the auspices of FIDE

Classical World Chess Championship 1995>1993–95(PCA)| Groningen December 199354 players Swiss7 qualified	Michael Adams (chess player)>Adams 1-2 Anand 3-7 Gata Kamsky	3-7 Vladimir Kramnik>Kramnik 3-7 Sergei Tiviakov	3-7 Boris Gulko>Gulko 3-7 Romanishin| Short| 1994–95: 8 players, matchesSemi-finals:{{*}} Kamsky beat Short{{*}} Anand beat Adams Fonals (1995):{{*}} Anand beat Kamsky| Candidates winner:{{*}} AnandDefending PCA champion{{*}} Kasparov| New York City September–October 199520 games match Kasparov won 10½–7½

1993–96(FIDE)	Biel July 199373 players Swiss 10 qualified	1 Gelfand 2-9 Paul Van der Sterren	2-9 Kamsky 2-9 Alexander Khalifman>Khalifman 2-9 Adams 2-9 Yudasin 2-9 Salov 2-9 Lautier 2-9 Kramnik 10-15 AnandEpichine, Lputian, Shirov, Ivanchuk and I. Sokolov were eliminated by the tie-break (sum of the opponents Elo ratings).| {{*}} Timman {{*}}Yusupov| 1994: Two rounds of matches12 players	Semi-finals (February 1995): Karpov beat Gelfand Kamsky beat Salov	Elista 199620 games match Karpov won 10½–7½

| Seeded in semi-finals: {{*}} Karpov| 1995: {{*}} Gelfand {{*}} Kamsky {{*}} Salov

Split titles (1997–2005)

After 1996, interzonals ceased to exist, but FIDE continued to organize qualifying zonal tournaments.{| border=“1” cellpadding=“4” cellspacing=“0” style="border:1px solid #aaa; border-collapse:collapse” style="background:#DDDDDD;“!colspan=“8” align=“center“| Classical championships (1998–2004) style="background:#cccccc;“! Years! Candidates format!colspan=“3” align=“center“| Seeded into Candidates!Candidates Winner(s)!width=11%|Seeded in Final!Championship Final

Classical World Chess Championship 2000>1998 (Classical)	Cazorla, Andalusia>Cazorla, May–June 199810-game match	Kramnik, Shirov (on rating)Anand, as a participant in the FIDE world championship cycle, believed he was contractually obligated to not participate in a rival cycle.| Shirov won 5½–3½	Garry Kasparov>Kasparov (1995 champion)| Match never took place

Classical World Chess Championship 2000>2000 (Classical)	None	Two players seeded in final:Kasparov (1995 champion); Kramnik (on rating)Negotiations for a 1999 match with Shirov or Anand failed, as did negotiations in 2000, with Anand expressing dissatisfaction with the contract.| London: October-November 200016-game matchKramnik won 8½–6½

Classical World Chess Championship 2004>2002–2004 (Classical)	Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting>Dortmund July 2002preliminaries: two four players double round robins;Semi-finals: the first from each group met the second from the other group in mini-matches	Preliminaries:Kasparov declined the invitation, as did Anand and other players engaged in the FIDE championship.group 1: 1 Shirov 2 Veselin Topalov	3 Boris Gelfand>Gelfand 4 Lutz	group 2: 1 Evgeny Bareev	2 Peter Leko>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 200414-game matchdrawn 7–7, Kramnik retained title

style="background:#DDDDDD;“!colspan=“8” align=“center“| FIDE championships (1997–2005) style="background:#cccccc;“! Years! Candidates format!colspan=“3” align=“center“| Seeded into Candidates!colspan=2|Finalists!Championship Final

FIDE World Chess Championship 1998>1997–1998 (FIDE)|Groningen December 1997, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournamentWinner plays 6-game championship match against Karpov	97 players,Top seed ‘’Vladimir Kramnik	refused to participate on the grounds that 1996 FIDE champion Karpov’s direct entry into the final was unacceptable; 1995 classical champion Garry Kasparov>Kasparov, 1996 finalist Gata Kamsky	and 1996 Women champion Susan Polgar>Z. Polgar’’ refused in advance to participate.Quarter-finalists: Adams, Van Wely, Short, Krasenkov, Gelfand, Dreev, Anand and Shirov.Topalov, Ivanchuk, Beliavsky, Salov, Bareev, Georgiev, J. Polgar, Sadler, Akopian, Lautier were eliminated	Viswanathan Anand		(beat Michael Adams (chess player)>Adams in candidates final) Karpov (1996 FIDE champion)| Lausanne: January 19986-game matchDrawn 3–3; Karpov won rapid playoff 2–0

FIDE World Chess Championship 1999>1999 (FIDE)|Las Vegas July–August 1999, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament	100 players,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 participateQuarter-finalists: Kramnik, Adams, Movsesian, Akopian, Shirov, Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu	, Khalifman and {{nowrap>J. Polgar}}1998 classical championship candidates Shirov and Kramnik were eliminated by Nisipeanu and Adams in quarterfinals.	Semi-finals: Alexander Khalifman	beat Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu>Nisipeanu, Akopian beat Adams| Las Vegas 19996-game matchKhalifman won 3½–2½

FIDE World Chess Championship 2000>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,Classical champions Kasparov, Kramnik and 1998 FIDE champion Karpov didn’t participateQuarter-finalists:Anand, Khalifman, Adams, Topalov, Tkachiev, Grischuk, Shirov and BareevMorozevich, Leko, Krasenkov, Kasimdzhanov, Svidler, Gelfand, Short, Smirin, Dreev, Azmaiparashvili, Rublevsky, Almasi, Xu Jun, Gurevich were eliminated	Semi-finals:Anand beat Adams, Shirov beat Grischuk| Tehran December 20006-game matchAnand won 3½–½

FIDE World Chess Championship 2002>2001–2002 (FIDE)|Moscow7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament with relatively quick time controlsfirst part (6 rounds): 25 November– 14 December 2001final: 16–24 January 2002	128 players,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).Quarter-finalists:Anand, Shirov, Ivanchuk, Lautier, Svidler, Gelfand, Ponomariov and Bareev	Semi-finals (4-game matches): Ruslan Ponomariov	beat Peter Svidler>Svidler, Ivanchuk beat Anand| Moscow January 20028-game matchPonomariov won 4½–2½Reunification Match with Kasparov never took place

FIDE World Chess Championship, 2004>2004 (FIDE)	Tripoli, Libya>Tripoli June–July 20047 round, mini-match, knockout tournament with relatively quick time controls	128 players,’’Kasparov, Anand, Kramnik, Svidler, Shirov, Ponomariov, Peter Leko	, Judit Polgár>J. Polgár, Boris Gelfand	, Evgeny Bareev>Bareev, Karpov’’ and Israeli players refused to participate, Alexander Morozevich	was absent before the first roundQuarter-finalists:Topalov, Kharlov, Kasimdzhanov, Grischuk, Teimour Radjabov>Radjabov, Dominguez, Adams, AkopianIvanchuk, Short, Malakhov, Nisipeanu, Sokolov, Dreev, Akopian, Bacrot, Gurevich, Rublevsky, were eliminated	Semi-finals: Adams beat Radjabov, Rustam Kasimdzhanov	beat Veselin Topalov>Topalov	Tripoli, Libya>Tripoli July 20046-game matchdrawn 3–3; Kasimdzhanov won rapid playoff 1½–½

style="background:#cccccc;“! Years!colspan=“4” align=“center“| Candidates format!colspan=“2” align=“center“|Seeded in Final!Championship Final

FIDE World Chess Championship, 2005>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),Kramnik (as classical 2004 finalist) declined the invitation, and Kasparov, who had retired from competition, were replaced by J. Polgar and Svidler on rating J. Polgár and Svidler (on rating)	San Luis, Argentina>San Luis: 8 players,double round robin,September–October 20051 Topalov: 10/142-3 Anand 8½/142-3 Svidler 8½/144 Morozevich 7/14

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Reunified title (since 2006)

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.WEB, FIDE Grand Swiss update (archive),www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/11442-fide-grand-swiss-update.html, FIDE, 4 April 2019, 19 February 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190307192659/https://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/11442-fide-grand-swiss-update.html, 2019-03-07, {| border=“1” cellpadding=“4” cellspacing=“0” style="border:1px solid #aaa; border-collapse:collapse” style="background:#cccccc;“!colspan=“8” align=“center“| Reunification style="background:#cccccc;“! Years!colspan=4|!colspan=2 align=center | Seeded in Final!width=15%| Championship Final

World Chess Championship 2006>2006	Reunification match	Topalov (FIDE champion), Kramnik (classical champion)|Elista October 200612-game matchdrawn 6–6, Kramnik won rapid playoff 2½–1½

style="background:#cccccc;“! Years!width=17%| Qualification format!width=12%| Qualifiers!width=15%| Seeded into Candidates!width=17%| Candidates Format!width=11%| Candidates Winner(s)!width=13%| Seeded in Final!width=15%| Championship Final

World Chess Championship 2007>2005–2007| Chess World Cup 2005 Khanty-MansiyskNovember–December 2005 128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament; + mini-matches to establish places 1 through 16. top 10 qualify	Levon Aronian>Aronian 3 (Étienne Bacrot	Bacrot was qualified on rating) 4 Alexander Grischuk>Grischuk 5 Bareev 6 Gelfand 7 Sergei Rublevsky	8 Mikhail Gurevich (chess player)>Gurevich 9 Gata Kamsky	10 Magnus Carlsen>Carlsen 11 Malakhov	Judit Polgár>J. Polgár, Shirov, Bacrot (on rating)|Candidates Matches 2007 Elista: May–June 200716 players, two rounds of matches, 4 players qualify for championship tournament| Aronian, Gelfand, Grischuk, LekoAronian beat A.Shirov ; Leko beat Bareev ; Grischuk beat Rublevsky ; Gelfand beat Kamsky| Anand, Svidler, Morozevich (2nd–4th in 2005);KramnikTopalov was replaced by Kramnik (2006 Champion) (2006 Champion)| Mexico City: September 20078 players, double round robin 1 Anand 9/142-3 Kramnik 8/142-3 Gelfand 8/14

World Chess Championship 2008>2008	Rematch| Kramnik, Anand| Bonn October 200812-game matchAnand won 6½–4½ to retain the title.

World Chess Championship 2010>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 2009Sofia February 2009, 8-game match| Topalov won 4½–2½| Anand (2008 champion)| Sofia April–May 201012-game matchAnand won 6½–5½ to retain the title.

2008–2012|FIDE Grand Prix 2008–20102 qualifiedGrischuk, third of FIDE Grand Prix, replaced Carlsen after he withdrew.	Teimour Radjabov>Radjabov	(Carlsen on rating) Grischuk (replacement of Carlsen) Kramnik (on rating),Kamsky,2009 candidate, loser of the World Chess Championship 2010#Challenger Match	Topalov,2010 finalist, loser of 2010 World Chess Championship matchFIDE to move Candidates Matches, Topalov threatens boycott Shakhriyar Mamedyarov>Mamedyarov (wildcard)Nominee of the organizing committee.	Candidates Tournament 2011Kazan, May 2011,chessbase.com; Pairings for Candidates Matches are released 8 players, matches Semifinals:Gelfand defeated Kamsky;Grischuk defeated Kramnik	Gelfand defeated Grischuk in the final 3½–2½	Anand (2010 champion)	Moscow May 201212-game match drawn 6–6,Anand won rapid playoff 2½–1½to retain the title

| 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)

World Chess Championship 2013>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| GelfandLoser of the 2012 World Championship match Carlsen, Aronian, Kramnik (ratings)Top three rated players not already qualified Radjabov (wildcard)| Candidates Tournament 2013LondonLevitov announces FIDE plans for Candidates Tournament in the 2014 World Championship cycleMarch 20138 player double round-robin tournament| Carlsen(won Candidates Tournament on tie breaks)| Anand (2012 champion)| Chennai, November 201312-game matchCarlsen won 6½–3½

2012–2014|FIDE Grand Prix 2012–20132 qualified|Topalov, Mamedyarov	AnandLoser of the 2013 World Championship matchAronian, Karjakin (ratings)Top two rated players not already qualifiedSvidler (wildcard)	Candidates Tournament 2014Khanty-Mansiysk,FIDE Calendar 2014March 2014HTTP://WWW.FIDE.COM/COMPONENT/CONTENT/ARTICLE/1-FIDE-NEWS/6020-FIDE-ANNOUNCES-DATES-FOR-WORLD-CHESS-CHAMPIONSHIP-CYCLES.HTML >TITLE=FIDE ANNOUNCES DATES FOR WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP CYCLES	ARCHIVE-DATE=2013-03-18	URL-STATUS=DEAD, 8 player double round-robin tournament	Anand	Carlsen(2013 champion)	Sochi, November 201412-game matchCarlsen won 6½-4½ to retain the title

|Chess World Cup 2013TromsøAugust–September 2013128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament (top two qualify)

Dmitry Andreikin>Andreikin

2014–2016|FIDE Grand Prix 2014–152 qualified	Fabiano Caruana>Caruana, Nakamura	AnandLoser of the 2014 World Championship matchTopalov, Anish Giri	(ratings)Aronian (wildcard)HTTPS://WWW.FIDE.COM/COMPONENT/CONTENT/ARTICLE/1-FIDE-NEWS/9179-2016-FIDE-WORLD-CHESS-CANDIDATES-TOURNAMENT.HTML	ACCESS-DATE=2015-11-11	ARCHIVE-URL=HTTPS://WEB.ARCHIVE.ORG/WEB/20151112193033/HTTP://WWW.FIDE.COM/COMPONENT/CONTENT/ARTICLE/1-FIDE-NEWS/9179-2016-FIDE-WORLD-CHESS-CANDIDATES-TOURNAMENT.HTML, dead,	Candidates Tournament 2016 Moscow, March 20168 player double round-robin tournament	Karjakin	Carlsen(2014 champion)	New York City, November 201612-game match drawn 6–6Carlsen won rapid playoff 3–1 to retain the title

|Chess World Cup 2015BakuOctober 2015128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament (top two qualify)|Svidler, Karjakin

2017–2018|FIDE Grand Prix 2017Two qualify|Mamedyarov, Grischuk	KarjakinLoser of the 2016 World Championship matchCaruana, So (ratings)Kramnik (wildcard)Kramnik to play 2018 Candidates	Candidates Tournament 2018Berlin, March 20188 player double round-robin tournament	Caruana	Carlsen(2016 champion)	London, November 201812-game match drawn 6–6Carlsen won rapid playoff 3–0 to retain the titleHTTPS://LONDON2018.WORLDCHESS.COM/ >TITLE=WORLD CHESS LONDON	ARCHIVE-DATE=2017-12-07	URL-STATUS=DEAD,

|Chess World Cup 2017TbilisiSeptember 2017128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament (top two qualify)

Ding Liren>Ding

2019–2021|FIDE Grand Prix 2019Two qualify	Ian Nepomniachtchi>Nepomniachtchi	CaruanaLoser of the 2018 World Championship matchGiri (ratings)Kirill Alekseenko	(wildcard)Maxime Vachier-Lagrave>Vachier-Lagrave (ratings, as replacement for Radjabov)	Candidates Tournament 2020–21Yekaterinburg,Mar-Apr 2020, Apr 20218 player double round-robin tournament	Nepomniachtchi	Carlsen (2018 champion)	Dubai, November–December 202114-game matchCarlsen won to retain title, 7½–3½

|Chess World Cup 2019Khanty-MansiyskSeptember–October 2019128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament (top two qualify)|(Radjabov), Ding

FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2019Isle of Man, October 2019 Swiss-system tournament>Swiss tournament (top player qualifies)	Wang Hao (chess player)>Wang

2021–2023|FIDE Grand Prix 2022February–April 2022Top two qualify| Rapport, Nakamura	NepomniachtchiLoser of the 2021 World Championship match Radjabov (wildcard) Ding (ratings, as replacement for Karjakin)	Candidates Tournament 20228 player double round-robin tournamentMadrid, June–July 2022	Nepomniachtchi	Carlsen (2021 champion)Carlsen refused to defend his title.Ding (Candidates runner-up, as replacement for Carlsen)	Astana, April–May 202314-game matchHTTPS://FIDE.COM/NEWS/2180 >TITLE=ASTANA TO HOST FIDE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH 2023	DATE=19 JANUARY 2023	PUBLISHER=FIDE	QUOTE=, drawn 7–7Ding won rapid playoff 2½–1½

|Chess World Cup 2021SochiJuly–August 2021206 players, 8 round, mini-match, knockout tournament Top two qualify

Jan-Krzysztof Duda>Duda, (Karjakin*)Disqualified by FIDE

FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2021Riga, October–November 2021114-player Swiss-system tournament>Swiss tournament Top two qualify	Alireza Firouzja>Firouzja, Caruana

2023–2024|Chess World Cup 2023BakuJul-Aug 2023206 players, 8 round, mini-match, knockout tournamentTop three qualifyWEB, FIDE reforms the qualifications paths to the Candidates Tournament,www.fide.com/news/2138, FIDE,	Carlsen), R Praggnanandhaa>Praggnanandhaa, Caruana	NepomniachtchiRunner-Up of the 2023 World Chess ChampionshipFirouzja (ratings)Abasov (World Cup 4th place, as replacement for Carlsen)	Candidates Tournament 20248 player double round-robin tournamentToronto, April 2024HTTPS://WWW.CHESS.COM/NEWS/VIEW/2024-CANDIDATES-TOURNAMENTS-TO-BE-HELD-IN-TORONTO > TITLE=FIDE CANDIDATES AND WOMEN’S CANDIDATES 2024 TO BE HELD IN TORONTO,	Gukesh	Ding (2023 champion)	Location TBA, November–December 202414-game match

|FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2023Isle of ManOct-Nov 2023114-player Swiss tournamentTop two qualify

Vidit Gujrathi>Vidit, Nakamura

|FIDE Circuit 2023Top player qualifies

Gukesh D>Gukesh

2024–2026	Chess World Cup 2025Top three qualifyCHANGES TO QUALIFICATION PATHS FOR THE CANDIDATES TOURNAMENT	WEBSITE=FIDE, |	(ratings)	Candidates Tournament 20268 player double round-robin tournament		(2024 champion)	TBD

|FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2025Top two qualify|

2024 FIDE Circuit>FIDE Circuit 2024Top player qualifies|

|FIDE Circuit 2025Top player qualifies| style="background:#cccccc;“! Years! Qualification format! Qualifiers! Seeded into Candidates! Candidates Format! Candidates Winner(s)! Seeded in Final! Championship Final

See also

• Development of the Women’s World Chess Championship

Notes

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

References

• FIDE World Championship events 1948-1990, Mark Weeks’ chess pages
• World Championship events 1991-present, Mark Weeks’ chess pages
• World Championships pages {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930073510rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybkaforum/topic_show.pl?tid=22561 |date=2018-09-30 }}, Rybka Chess Community Forum

{{World Chess Championships}}{{Chess}}