A fabulous year for Indian chess ended with the news of D. Gukesh and K. Humpy taking the eighth and final spot in their respective Candidates Tournaments, scheduled in Toronto from April 2, 2024.
The winners of these eight-player events will earn the right to challenge the reigning World champions Chinese Ding Liren and Ju Wenjun for the titles.
Since 1991, when Viswanathan Anand remained the only Indian to play in the Candidates, five Indians — R. Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi, Gukesh, R. Vaishali and Humpy — making the grade is a great global advertisement for Indian chess.
On Saturday, Gukesh completed the eight-player field by virtue of being second on the 2023 FIDE Circuit behind an already-qualified table topper Fabiano Caruana. The youngster was the highest-placed player in the Circuit, not otherwise qualified through the previous World championship, World Cup, the Grand Swiss or on World rankings.
At the start of the World rapid and blitz championship in Samarkand earlier this week, Gukesh (87.36 points), Anish Giri (84.31), Wesley So (83.40) and Arjun Erigaisi (81.24) had hopes of making it to the Candidates.
Anish needed to be among the medalists and Arjun had to win the rapid title. So had hopes of making the cut by virtue of being the highest ranked non-qualifier as of January 1, 2024.
Anish and Arjun failed to achieve their goals and So was overtaken by Alireza Firouzja, who won all seven rounds of the Rouen Open.This performance helped Firzouja take his rating to 2764, past So’s 2757. An unthreatened Gukesh held his position and grabbed the lone spot on offer.
For Humpy, ranked second on the January 1 World rating list, the passage was far less complicated. With the top ranked Chinese Hou Yifan showing no interest in returning to regain the title, Humpy remained the highest ranked non-qualifier at the start of 2024.
The qualifiers: Men: Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia, 2023 World championship runner-up), R. Praggnanandhaa, Fabiano Caruana (USA), Nijat Abasov (Azerbaijan, from 2023 World Cup), Vidit Gujrathi, Hikaru Nakamura (USA, from Grand Swiss), D. Gukesh (from 2023 FIDE Circuit) and Alireza Firouzja (France, highest rated non-qualifier as on January 1, 2024).
Women: Lei Tingjie (China, 2023 World championship runner-up), Kateryna Lagno (winner) and Aleksandra Goryachkina (both Russia from Women’s Grand Prix 2022-23), Nurgyyul Salimova (Bul), Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine, from Women’s 2023 World Cup), R. Vaishali, Tan Zhongyi (from Women Grand Swiss, 2023) and K. Humpy (highest rated non-qualifier on January 1, 2024).
