Giri Secures Candidates Spot with Grand Swiss Victory; Vaishali Dominates Women's Event

Dutch Grandmaster (GM) Anish Giri booked his spot in the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 after clinching the FIDE Grand Swiss on Monday in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Giri topped a packed field of elite players to finish first, securing one of the most coveted tickets in world chess, the right to fight for the challenger spot in the 2026 World Chess Championship. Joining him from the open section is Germany’s Matthias Bluebaum, who claimed the second qualification spot in the FIDE Grand Swiss.The Candidates 2026, scheduled between March 25 and May 1, will feature eight players in a double round-robin format to determine the challenger to reigning World Champion D Gukesh. The qualification system, revamped in 2024, ensures merit-based entries through the World Cup, Grand Swiss, FIDE Circuit, and rating slots, without any automatic berth for the previous championship runner-up.While Giri’s triumph headlines the open section, India’s GM R Vaishali stole the spotlight in the women’s event by defending her FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss title, scoring 8/11 after a final-round draw with China’s Tan Zhongyi. This victory secures Vaishali’s second appearance in the Women’s Candidates Tournament 2026, joining compatriots Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh, who qualified earlier via the FIDE Women’s World Cup.Speaking after her win, Vaishali reflected on her resilience following a tough run at the Chennai Grand Masters. “I lost seven games in a row, it was very hard. But in a way, that experience is the reason I won the Grand Swiss,” she told ChessBase India.Vaishali’s back-to-back Grand Swiss titles underline her consistency at the highest level, while her qualification ensures that India will have a historic three representatives in the Women’s Candidates. For Indian chess, already basking in the rise of world champion Gukesh, this represents another milestone on the global stage.With Fabiano Caruana (2024 FIDE Circuit winner) and Hikaru Nakamura (projected rating qualifier) also confirmed, the road to the Candidates 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most competitive in recent memory.