Half the eight 2020 candidates are decided following Teimour Radjabov’s shock
World Cup win, so eminent names will fall in the overcrowded raceFour of the eight candidates who will compete for the right to take on Magnus Carlsen for his global crown are now decided, and the chances for elite grandmasters who have yet to qualify are shrinking. Fide’s 160-player Grand Swiss in the Isle of Man starting on 10 October is the last-chance saloon for several eminent players.
Ekaterinburg will stage the candidates in March-April 2020, followed by the title match itself later in the year. Monaco, Vienna and St Petersburg are rumoured to be among the contenders to host the 14-game championship series for which the bidding closes in March, but Stavanger withdrew after Carlsen stated that the only Norwegian venue he might accept would be his home city of Oslo.