Candidates 2026: 'Praggnanandhaa is third favourite' - World No. 1 Carlsen

World No. 1 and five-time World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen has shared his thoughts connected the players competing successful the 2026 Candidates Tournament. According to the erstwhile satellite champion, Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa is the 3rd strongest contender to triumph the event.

Carlsen believes that Praggnanandhaa has a bully chance, but inactive ranks him down 2 American players. The Candidates Tournament is precise important successful chess. The victor earns the close to situation the existent World Champion. This time, the champion is India’s D Gukesh. Eight apical players volition instrumentality portion successful the tournament, and Praggnanandhaa is the lone Indian among them.The 2026 Candidates Tournament volition statesman connected March 28 successful Cyprus. Carlsen feels that Americans Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana are the apical favourites. After them, helium places Praggnanandhaa. He besides said that determination is simply a wide spread betwixt these 3 and the remainder of the field. “Just similar past time, astir apt the Americans are the favourites. Then we got Pragg arsenic the 3rd favorite, and past astir apt a beauteous large driblet disconnected aft that. Wei Yi is truly good, but I don’t deliberation he’s susceptible of winning capable games to triumph the Candidates.

So it volition beryllium absorbing to see," Carlsen told Chess.com successful an interview. Apart from Nakamura, Caruana, and Praggnanandhaa, the tourney volition see Anish Giri from the Netherlands, Matthias Bluebaum from Germany, Javokhir Sindarov from Uzbekistan, Wei Yi from China, and Andrey Esipenko from Russia. Carlsen besides spoke astir players who missed retired connected qualifying. He feels that immoderate beardown names deserved a spot successful the Candidates. “I would person loved to spot immoderate much large names successful the field, but past again, if you didn’t qualify, you didn’t qualify. Maybe this strategy should benignant of relationship for idiosyncratic similar Vincent Keymer, who was truly adjacent to qualifying a batch of times and has the highest standing of anybody who’s not there. He surely deserved to beryllium there, but I conjecture helium and Arjun and a fewer others volition person to await their returns. It’s ever absorbing to follow,” Carlsen added.