The Fide Grand Swiss, which began last Thursday in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, will decide two of the eight qualifiers for next year’s world title Candidates.
India has a strong hand in Samarkand. The world champion, Gukesh Dommaraju, who is ineligible to qualify for the Candidates, is joined by world No 4, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, world No 5, Arjun Erigaisi, and world No 27, Vidit Gujrathi, who won the 2023 Grand Swiss in Douglas, Isle of Man.
The world No 2 and No 3 respectively, Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana, are almost assured of qualification, as is Praggnanandhaa. Samarkand will decide two qualifiers, and the remaining three will come via the World Cup knockout in Goa, India, in the first half of November.
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