How Praggnanandhaa can still win FIDE Candidates 2026? Hopes of all-Indian world title clash slim but not impossible

R Praggnanandhaa entered the 2026 FIDE Candidates as India's only hope in the open section of the tournament. His form coming into the event was not great and the Indian Grandmaster has carried that inconsistency into the Candidates as well.

At the half-way mark in the 8-player competition, the 20-year-old Indian is joint third with 3.5 points in seven rounds. He started the tournament on a high with a win against an in-form Anish Giri. However, since the opening day's victory, he has drawn five matches and lost to leader Javokhir Sindarov.

The lack of wins have put him behind Sindarov (6/7) and the second-placed Fabiano Caruana (4.5/7). He is currently tied for the third place with Giri (3.5/7). A massive push in the second half of the tournament is needed for Praggnanandhaa to turn around the deficit. But that might not be all he needs.

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Check out how Praggnanandhaa can still finish the Candidates at the top.

How Praggnanandhaa can still win FIDE Candidates 2026?

Half the tournament, seven rounds, is still left but the lead of Sindarov over everyone else is immense. The Uzbek youngster leads the second-placed Caruana by 1.5 points and Praggnanandhaa by 2.5 points. The lead is almost insurmountable and would need a massive turnaround for anyone who wants to win the tournament.

At the same time, Sindarov will have to drop points consistently to make way for others to tighten up the contest.

Praggnanandhaa needs to go on a winning streak in the last seven rounds to push himself ahead in the ladder. The last Candidates was won by D Gukesh at 9 points and to reach there Praggnanandhaa needs 5.5 more points from his remaining seven rounds.

It is an uphill task for the Indian as he has three games left with whites and four with blacks. The black games are going to be even harder as two of them are against Sindarov and Caruana, the top two in the standings right now.

He will have to convert the white advantage in all the remaining matches and hope to grind out wins with black in at least two of his four such games. He also needs Sindarov and Caruana both to drop points consistently in the second half. It will be even better if it is Praggnanandhaa who snatches away points from the top two.

However, the task in front of the Indian is a steep uphill battle where Praggnanandhaa will have to go on a generational run to have any hopes of winning the Candidates. Sindarov has almost sealed the championship match for himself and the Indian will most likely face another heartbreak.