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FIDE announced major overhauls for Candidates qualification path through Circuit Rating. (FIDE/Maria Emelianova)
FIDE, the International Chess Federation, has announced a comprehensive overhaul of its Circuit Rating system, one of the pathways to the prestigious Candidates Tournament, for the upcoming 2026-27 cycle. The most important update is the merger of the next two years into a single, unified circuit. This replaces the previous annual cycle, which saw Fabiano Caruana and R. Praggnanandhaa secure their Candidates 2026 spots through the 2024 and 2025 circuits, respectively.
FIDE’s statement reads, “For the first time, the FIDE Circuit will operate over a two-year cycle. Instead of an annual ranking, results from the 2026 and 2027 seasons will be combined into a single Circuit ranking. A player’s final score will be calculated as the sum of their twelve highest event scores achieved across the two-year period, or all event scores if fewer than twelve are available.”
Major Shift
2-YEAR
Circuit Cycle Replaces Annual System
Change 01
Expanded Results Counting
More tournament results now contribute to final Circuit rankings, rewarding consistency
Change 02
Open Circuit Sub-Ranking
New separate ranking system creates additional pathway through open tournaments
Change 03
Tournament Strength Recalculation
Updated methodology for evaluating tournament quality and point allocation
Change 04
Rapid & Blitz Expansion
Broader eligibility criteria for faster time-control tournaments in Circuit rankings
Change 05
Total Chess Tour Integration
World Championship Tour officially included in FIDE Circuit structure
Change 06
Championship Bonus Adjusted
Modified scoring for World Championship Match participation and performance
Indian Express InfoGenIE
Newly introduced balance rules place a firm emphasis on classical chess. When a final score is calculated from eleven or twelve events, no more than four of those may be rapid or blitz tournaments. Furthermore, to promote participation in stronger fields, limits are placed on events with smaller turnouts. For scores based on eleven results, no more than seven events can have fewer than 50 participants; for twelve results, the limit is eight. These thresholds are proportionally reduced for scores based on ten or fewer tournaments.
Eligibility for Candidates qualification via the Circuit now requires a minimum of eight eligible tournaments. Of these, at least five must be standard classical time-control events. Depending on the total number of tournaments counted, a specific minimum of these classical events must also have had 50 or more participants. Notably, events where a player scores zero points can still count toward meeting the participation requirements.
To highlight performance in large open events, a new Open Circuit sub-ranking has been created. This ranking will only include tournaments with over 50 participants, and top performers within it will earn qualification opportunities for elite FIDE competitions like the Total Chess Tour, strengthening the link between open tournaments and the top-level pathway.
Further technical adjustments include revising how tournament strength is calculated; the average rating will now be based on the top twelve players instead of the top eight. The minimum average rating for rapid and blitz events to be Circuit-eligible has been lowered from 2700 to 2650. The Total Chess World Championship Tour is now formally integrated into the Circuit, with its results counting toward scores. Finally, bonus scoring for the World Championship match runner-up has been recalibrated, with its coefficient reduced to 1.5 to better balance match performance against consistent tournament results.
These updated regulations, approved by the FIDE Council in December 2025, have come into force on January 1, 2026.
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