Hikaru Nakamura and Richard Rapport in the Candidates 2022
Hikaru Nakamura beat Andrey Esipenko in the sixth round of the third leg of FIDE Grand Prix this past Monday at Berlin, Germany. He topped Pool A and advanced to the Semifinals. The Speed King secured at least 20 points which is also secured by Richard Rapport after he won the FIDE Belgrade GP earlier this month. There is no mathematical way for any other GP participants to gain more points than them, thus Nakamura and Rapport have secured their place in the FIDE Candidates 2022. Nakamura and Rapport joins Nepomniachtchi, Radjabov, Duda, Firouzja and Caruana at the Candidates which will start on 17th June at Madrid, Spain. Ding Liren is trying to earn the final spot. Photo: Lennart Ootes and Niki Riga
One last spot left
Candidates 2022 participants known so far
1. Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE World Championship 2021 runner-up)
2. Teimour Radjabov (FIDE World Cup 2019 winner)
3. Jan-Krzysztof Duda (FIDE World Cup 2021 winner)
4. Sergey Karjakin* (FIDE World Cup 2021 runner-up)
5. Alireza Firouzja (FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss 2021 winner)
6. Fabiano Caruana (FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss 2021 runner-up)
7. Hikaru Nakamura (FIDE Grand Prix 2022)
8. Richard Rapport (FIDE Grand Prix 2022)
*The one spot which was earned by Sergey Karjakin originally by finishing as the runner-up of FIDE World Cup 2021 is now up for grabs, after FIDE Ethics' decision to ban the Russian (pending a potential appeal). As per the tournament regulations, the spot will be given to the highest-rated eligible player in the FIDE Rating List for May 2022. Ding Liren is the front runner for it. although he will need to play 26 classical games well before 30th April to get the minimum 30 games (played between June 2021 and May 2022) required to be eligible. He started playing a quadruple Round-Robin tournament where he has already played five games which means now he has 21 games left to play to fulfill the criteria. It is very much doable.
FIDE Candidates 2022 venue and schedule announced
We’re pleased to announce the schedule and venue of the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2022. The magnificent Palacio de Santoña, a centrally located historic building in Madrid, will become the venue of the most anticipated chess tournament of 2022. Built in 1730, this mansion boasts of distinguished carved granite baroque façade and is home to one of the most refined eclectic interiors in the Spanish capital. It is currently one of the headquarters of the Madrid Chamber of Commerce.
Eight prominent grandmasters will compete for a top spot in a double round-robin (all play all) tournament from 16 June to 6 July. The schedule includes four free days, one after every three rounds:
• 16th June: Technical meeting and opening ceremony
• 17th -19th June: Rounds 1-3
• 20th June: Rest day
• 21st - 23rd June: Rounds 4-6
• 24th June: Rest day
• 25th - 27th June: Rounds 7-9
• 28th June: Rest day
• 29th June - 1st July: Rounds 10-12
• 2nd July: Rest day
• 3rd - 4th July: Rounds 13-14
• 5th July: Potential tiebreaks
The first place is all that matters as the tournament’s winner becomes the World Championship Challenger and acquires the right to face World Champion Magnus Carlsen in a match. You can follow the updates on the World Championship Cycle on our dedicated page
Source of FIDE Candidates 2022 venue and schedule announcement
