FIDE Circuit is the new path to qualify for the FIDE Candidates Tournament, introduced this year. One player achieving the highest results during 2023 in eligible tournaments will get a ticket to Toronto. Each contender must play in at least five eligible tournaments, and only five of the top results are counted towards the Circuit standings. The system elevates the status of eligible tournaments and raises the stakes for participants. Will we see some players shuffle their calendars towards the end of the year to maximise their chances for the coveted Candidates' spot? Remains to be seen, while at the moment, we have reached the point when we can sum up the first half year of FIDE Circuit.

Before we delve into statistics, it is worth noting that each FIDE Circuit tournament has to meet the standards set out in the regulations. While there is no limitation to the maximum of participants, the eight highest-rated players of the event must have an average standard rating of 2550 or more (and there can't be less than eight players in the tournament). In rapid and blitz, the threshold rises to 2700. Players shall represent at least three federations, except for national championships, and not more than 50% of the top 20 players shall come from one federation. There are also requirements to have an International Arbiter overseeing the tournament and other standards to prevent abuse of the rules and ensure that only professional and strong events get on the list.

With the technicalities behind us, let's look at the first six months of FIDE Circuit. It started with very strong tournaments such as Rilton Cup and Wijk aan Zee (both Masters and Challengers) added to the list in January, and it grew to 44 tournaments awarding FIDE Circuit  at the beginning of July. Twenty-eight are held in Europe, eight in the Americas and eight in Asia. More than 300 players scored Circuit points.

So far, the top events on the list were Norway Chess and Norway Chess Blitz, with a 2771 average rating, closely followed by Tata Steels Masters (2770) and Romania Grand Chess Tour (2768). The Circuit points awarded to the winners vary based on the events' strength, so these tournaments heavily influenced the leaderboard.

The first event was the Rilton Cup, held at the turn of the year. Its winner, Indian grandmaster Pranesh M (pictured above) got 6.76 points. He hasn't added any point to his tally since but will go down in history as the first-ever leader of the FIDE Circuit.

The Wijk aan Zee triumphant Anish Giri earned 27 points and became the leader at the end of January. He could extend his lead in WR Chess Masters next month but finished shared 5th, which brought him mere 2.03 Circuit points. Instead, the top spot was taken by Wesley So. His tally of 30.8 points was the sum of two solid results in Tata Steel and WR Chess.

Photo: tatasteelchess.com, Jurriaan Hoefsmit

In April, after securing his second victory at the Menorca Open, Gukesh D took the lead by a tiny margin (mere 0.10 points) ahead of Wesley So. Later the same month, he was overcome by Levon Aronian, who finished second in Satty Zhuldyz blitz in Astana.

However, Gukesh D was back at the top of the FIDE Circuit leaderboard in May after two strong performances in Sweden and UAE, followed by third place in Norway Chess in June to solidify his position. The 17-year-old prodigy keeps the lead, closely followed by Wesley So, Anish Giri, and Fabiano Caruana. His path illustrates that steadily high but not necessarily top results are better than alternating between great and mediocre performances. Here are his current top five tournaments:

WR Chess Masters - 2nd place, 19.26 Circuit Points
Menorca Open - 1st place, 11.64
TePe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament 2023 - 2nd to 4th place, 12.22
6th Sharjah Masters - 3rd place, 13.13
Norway Chess - 3rd place, 19.03

Photo: TePe Sigeman & Co tournament | David Llada

With many important tournaments to come - Grand Chess Tour, Biel, FIDE World Cup, FIDE Grand Swiss, World Rapid and Blitz Championships – the FIDE Circuit race is still wide open. Moreover, the final standings can depend on lower-rated events in case of a tight race.

We have a page on our website dedicated to FIDE Circuit that we keep up to date. You can find the list of eligible tournaments, the leaderboard, and regulations. Check it out: FIDE Circuit 2023.