Giri's victory over Hans Niemann in the final round on 15/9 secured him the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 championship with 8 points from 11 rounds. More importantly, the Dutch grandmaster earned his third spot in the Candidates Tournament, having previously competed in 2016 and 2020-2021.
Three players tied for second place with 7.5 points: Bluebaum, Alireza Firouzja, and Vincent Keymer. Bluebaum secured the remaining Candidates spot thanks to a superior tiebreaker score, the average Elo rating of his opponents (2695). Firouzja and Keymer finished third and fourth, with average opponent Elo ratings of 2684 and 2668, respectively, thus missing out on qualification.
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28-year-old German grandmaster Matthias Bluebaum during his final match against Alireza Firouzja at the Grand Swiss tournament in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on 15/9/2025. Photo: FIDE |
28-year-old German grandmaster Matthias Bluebaum during his final match against Alireza Firouzja at the Grand Swiss tournament in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on 15/9/2025. Photo: FIDE
Giri finished the tournament with five wins against Robert Hovhannisyan, Grigoriy Oparin, MarcAndria Maurizzi, Jorden van Foreest, and Niemann. His remaining six games were draws.
Bluebaum achieved four wins against Jon Ludvig Hammer, Cristobal Henriquez Villagra, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, and Arjun Erigaisi. Notably, Praggnanandhaa and Erigaisi are ranked among the top 5 in the world in standard chess, while Bluebaum is ranked outside the top 50.
Caruana was the first player to qualify for the 2026 Candidates Tournament, based on his performance in the 2024 FIDE Circuit. The FIDE Circuit is a point-based tournament system similar to the ATP Tour in tennis. Each year, the top-ranked player in the Circuit earns a place in the Candidates Tournament. Praggnanandhaa is currently leading the 2025 Circuit.
The 2026 Candidates Tournament will feature eight players, with qualification determined by several criteria. The remaining five spots will go to the highest-ranked player in the 2025 Circuit, the player with the highest average Elo rating from August 2025 to January 2026, and the top three finishers in the 2025 Chess World Cup. While Magnus Carlsen would likely qualify based on his Elo rating, he has relinquished his world championship title and is no longer interested in the Candidates Tournament. Therefore, world number two Hikaru Nakamura is expected to claim this spot.
The 2025 Chess World Cup will take place from 1/11 to 25/11 in Goa, India. Le Quang Liem will represent Vietnam. The tournament will consist of eight knockout rounds, with the top three players qualifying for the Candidates Tournament.
Xuan Binh
