Exclusive | 'One Indian is surprising': Anish Giri rates Candidates 2026 line-up

NEW DELHI: When Grandmaster R Vaishali defended her FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss crown past September, it was a privation that her younger member R Praggnanandhaa would articulation her astatine the Candidates 2026 journey.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The marquee tournament, scheduled from March 28 to April 16, 2026, astatine the Cap St Georges Hotel and Resort successful Pegeia, Cyprus, volition find the adjacent challenger for the World Championship successful some the women's and unfastened sections.

Despite missing retired connected the coveted berth by a borderline astatine some the FIDE Grand Swiss and the World Cup, Praggnanandhaa yet got the confirmation connected Monday, acknowledgment to a ascendant twelvemonth that ended successful his Candidates qualification done the FIDE circuit.Victories astatine the Wijk aan Zee Masters, Superbet Chess Classic Romania, UzChess Cup Masters, and London Chess Classic Open present mean that the 20-year-old could committee the aforesaid formation to Cyprus arsenic his sister, Vaishali.During an exclusive interrogation with TimesofIndia.com, Dutch No. 1 Anish Giri, however, feels the fig of Indians could've been overmuch greater.

“Yeah, I deliberation it's a truly chill lineup," helium said. "There are 2 players from the States, but a batch of players are from antithetic countries.

“You could person aggregate Indian players, of course, easily. You could person galore German players besides easily, oregon galore Russian players. But determination is 1 German, 1 Russian, and lone 1 Indian, which is rather surprising.”With D Gukesh presently holding the World Chess Championship crown, the 31-year-old Dutchman quipped, “You besides person 1 Indian successful the World Championship rubric holder, right? So successful a way, you person 2 successful the running.

So that's besides bully for India."Widening his horizon, Giri present takes a deeper look, with Germany’s Matthias Bluebaum looking awesome to him. And wherefore not? The 28-year-old besides had a superb 2025. After winning the European Individual Chess Championship, helium raised galore eyebrows to look arsenic runner-up successful the FIDE Grand Swiss.“The lowest rated seed, Matthias Bluebaum, is precise formidable. He is simply a seasoned professional,” Giri acknowledged.“Maybe radical extracurricular chess ne'er heard of him, but each my colleagues knew him for years. He's a precise stable, precise bully player. He became European champion this year, truthful it didn’t travel retired of nowhere.”The Dutch GM pointed retired that standing lists tin beryllium misleading up of a Candidates event, particularly erstwhile players regain information during the World Championship cycle.“As for ratings, you should instrumentality them with a atom of salt,” helium said.

“Sindarov is rather low-rated, but very, precise young. You volition not beryllium shocked if Sindarov, successful a twelvemonth oregon two, volition beryllium ranked fig 5 successful the world. Nobody volition blink an eye.”“Andrey Esipenko is present peculiarly low-rated for his ain standards. He utilized to beryllium 2730 erstwhile helium was 19.“Some radical suffer information erstwhile they don't vie successful the cycle. Then, the Grand Swiss and World Cup come, and they regain motivation, commencement moving precise hard, and travel overmuch stronger than their standing suggests.“There is not a subordinate successful determination who volition beryllium a pushover. And the information that immoderate players are lower-rated mightiness service arsenic provocation for higher-rated players to spell much aggressively, which could pb to a much breathtaking tournament.”'Two of the players I wanted arsenic seconds qualified themselves'While discussing his mentation for the Candidates 2026, the top-ranked Dutch Grandmaster besides revealed an antithetic hurdle.As helium began exploring whom to prosecute arsenic portion of his team, the World Cup analyzable matters.“Right aft Grand Swiss, I started reasoning who I wanted arsenic seconds. I had a database of definite players, and I realised I can’t invitation them yet due to the fact that they mightiness suffice done the World Cup,” helium said.“Imagine I invitation immoderate subordinate and it's an insult, similar saying, ‘You volition not person a accidental successful the World Cup anyway, conscionable articulation my team.’ So I had to wait.”And that caution proved prescient. “Two of the players I considered, they present qualified themselves,” Giri revealed with a laugh. “Which means I recognize truly good what makes a bully 2nd due to the fact that that 2nd was truthful bully that helium became my opponent.”Despite the setback, helium remains assured astir assembling a beardown team. “There are galore large players,” helium added with a smirk. “Don’t worry, I volition find people.”With established stars, breakout talents and motivated returnees, Giri believes the 2026 Candidates whitethorn nutrient immoderate of the astir combative chess seen successful caller cycles.“I deliberation the lineup is highly strong,” helium concluded. “Of course, it could beryllium adjacent stronger if you had Arjun (Erigaisi), Firouzja (Alireza), Abdusattorov (Nodirbek ), but determination are truthful galore large players that I can’t accidental anyone volition beryllium easy. It’s going to beryllium exciting.”