India’s Candidates windfall as Gukesh, Humpy make the cut

The Indian contingent constitutes over 30 per cent of participants in the upcoming Candidates Tournament in Canada.

In the final moments of the Candidates 2024 qualification window, chess players fiercely competed for the final two spots in the tournament, executing last-minute strategic moves. The Candidates offers the winner a chance to challenge the current world champion.

With Vidit Gujrathi and R. Praggnanandhaa already qualified, the race for the remaining spots included two more Indian youngsters, Arjun Erigaisi and D. Gukesh, along with Parham Maghsoodloo and Alireza Firouzja. Securing these spots required winning a high-rated tournament and boosting their FIDE circuit rating points.

Firouzja pursued rated events in France to enhance his chances, successfully accumulating the

current world champion, China's Ding Liren.

Initially denied entry due to COVID-19 challenges, Ding secured a spot just in time when the Chinese Chess Association organised 26 classical games within a month. This allowed him to meet the eligibility criteria for the highest-rated player position.

In this context, the Chennai Grand Masters 2023, hosted at the Leela Palace from December 15 to 21, became a crucial battleground. But Firouzja's approach and the Chennai Grand Masters sparked global discussions, not for the on-the-board games but for perceived concerns about timing

absence of any explicit FIDE rule preventing a tournament from taking place if it adhered to the chess body's regulations. As the debate raged on, the chess world sought clarity, and it came from the five-time world champion and FIDE deputy president, Viswanathan Anand.

Anand explained, "Within the rules, if you organise a tournament... you do this, and I’m very happy with this system.

In fact, it produces more tournaments; that’s good. So I don’t see a problem with that at all, and I

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