Dommaraju Gukesh qualified for the FIDE Candidates 2024 through FIDE Circuit. The 17-year-old native of Chennai preserved the second position in the standings after his main competitors, Anish Giri and Arjun Erigaisi did not manage to improve their score in the last point-heavy event of the year, the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. 

Fabiano Caruana secured his landslide victory in the FIDE Circuit in early December, but the American GM punched his ticket to the Candidates 2024 back in the summer after taking third place in the FIDE World Cup. 

Born on May 29, 2006, Gikesh will be the second-youngest participant of Candidates, behind only Robert Fischer, who took part in the 1959 Candidates aged 16. Gikesh joined his compatriots Praggnanandhaa R (a World Cup finalist) and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (the winner of FIDE Grand Swiss), who qualified for the Candidates 2024 earlier this year. For the first time in history, three Indian players will compete in the Candidates.

You can find the complete FIDE Circuit standings on wcc.fide.com/fide_circuit.phtml

Photo: Stev Bonhage