Fabiano Caruana continued his 2023 hot streak at the end of November, and after clinching the 2023 GCT Sinquefield Cup, he became the winner of FIDE Circuit. With just one competition to play, the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship, Fabiano is out of reach of his closest rivals (according to regulations, only five best scores by a particular player count toward the final score).

Given that Caruana already qualified for the Candidates in the World Cup, the second place in the FIDE Circuit (which gives a ticket to the Candidates) is worth its weight in gold.

Dommaraju Gukesh overtook Anish Giri in the FIDE Circuit standings and moved to second place following his strong showing in the Chennai Grand Masters, where he tied for the top position and collected 20 points. His compatriot Arjun Erigaisi picked up 18 points in this competition, coming to a striking distance to Wesley So (who also increased his tally to 83.4 points after the GCT Sinquefield Cup) and Anish Giri.

The race for second place in FIDE Circuit is entering the home stretch with three players – Gukesh, Giri, and Erigaisi – fighting for the spot in the Candidates. The upcoming FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship will decide who out of this trio qualifies for Toronto through FIDE Circuit.

Wesley So is not among the participants of the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship, but he has a chance to make it to the Candidates by rating.

FIDE Circuit Race Top 10 as of December 22, 2023

You can find full current standings on  wcc.fide.com/fide_circuit.phtml