World’s chess table tops line up for next year’s Candidates matches

By Errol Tiwari On In Chess with Errol |
World chess champion and Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, 26, sits at the pinnacle of the chess world in Elo points. In the November 2017 FIDE Elo list which ranks chess players according to numbers, Carlsen has a total of 2837 points, 36 more than the number 2 ranked chess player in the world. Carlsen will defend his world title in November 2018. (Photo: Alina L’Ami)
World chess champion and Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, 26, sits at the pinnacle of the chess world in Elo points. In the November 2017 FIDE Elo list which ranks chess players according to numbers, Carlsen has a total of 2837 points, 36 more than the number 2 ranked chess player in the world. Carlsen will defend his world title in November 2018. (Photo: Alina L’Ami)

Ever since the 1960s, the Candidates chess matches and subsequently the chess tournaments, have been recognized as definitive and contentious battles. The ultimate prize: becoming the challenger for the World Chess Championship Match. The next Candidates Tournament is scheduled for March 2018, in Berlin and will be contested by eight players, the very best in the world as of 2017, with the exception of the current world champion.

Six of the participants have been identified so far: