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The World Chess Championship 2026 is an upcoming chess match to determine the World Chess Champion. It will be played between the defending champion Gukesh Dommaraju and the challenger, Javokhir Sindarov, the winner of the Candidates Tournament 2026. The Championship is provisionally scheduled between 23 November and 17 December 2026, while the host city is yet to be decided.
| Qualification method | Player | Age | Rating | World ranking |
| (March 2026) | ||||
| 2024 FIDE Circuit winner | Fabiano Caruana | 33 | 2795 | 3 |
| Top two finishers of the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss | Anish Giri (winner) | 31 | 2753 | 8 |
| Matthias Blübaum (runner-up) | 29 | 2698 | 33 | |
| Top three finishers of the 2025 FIDE World Cup | Javokhir Sindarov (winner) | 20 | 2745 | 13 |
| Wei Yi (runner-up) | 26 | 2754 | 7 | |
| Andrey Esipenko (third place) | 24 | 2698 | 34 | |
| 2025 FIDE Circuit winner | R Praggnanandhaa | 20 | 2741 | 14 |
| Highest average rating (Aug 2025 – Jan 2026) | Hikaru Nakamura | 38 | 2810 | 2 |
| Rank | Player | Score | SB | Wins | Qualification | JS | AG | FC | WY | HN | ||||||
| 1 | Javokhir Sindarov (UZB) | 10 / 14 | 64 | 6 | Advanced to title match | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |||||||
| 2 | Anish Giri (NED) | 8 / 14 | 56 | 4 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ||||||||
| 3 | Fabiano Caruana (USA) | 7 / 14 | 48 | 4 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | |||||||
| 4 | Wei Yi (CHN) | 7 / 14 | 44 | 2 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ||||||
| 5 | Hikaru Nakamura (USA) | 6 / 14 | 44 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| 6 | Matthias Blübaum (GER) | 6 / 14 | 42 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ||||||
| 7 | R Praggnanandhaa (IND) | 6 / 14 | 40 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ||||||
| 8 | Andrey Esipenko (FIDE) | 4 / 14 | 31 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ||||||