Candidates Tournament

The Candidates Tournament is a chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. The winner of the Candidates earns the right to a match for the World Championship against the incumbent World Champion. The next FIDE World Chess Candidates tournament will take place in Moscow, Russia from 10th to 30th of March, 2016.

In the early history, it was contested as a triennial tournament, but after the split of the World Championship in the early 1990s, followed with the changes in the determination of the World Champion Challenger, the tournament is held on a variable time basis.

Organization

The number of players in the tournament varied over the years, between eight and fifteen players. Most of these qualified from Interzonal tournaments, though some gained direct entry without having to play the Interzonal.

The first Interzonal/Candidates World Championship cycle began in 1948. Before 1965, the tournament was organized in a round-robin format. From 1965 on, the tournament was played as knockout matches, spread over several months. In 1995–1996, the defending FIDE champion (Anatoly Karpov) also entered the Candidates, in the semi-finals, so the winner was the FIDE world champion.

FIDE discontinued the Candidates Tournaments after 1996, though they have returned in a different form for the FIDE World Chess Championship 2007.

During its 1993 to 2006 split from FIDE, the "Classical" World Championship also held three Candidates Tournaments (in 1994–1995, 1998 and 2002) under a different sponsor and a different format each time. In one of these cases (Alexei Shirov in 1998) no title match eventuated, under disputed circumstances (see Classical World Chess Championship 2000).

Results of Candidates Tournaments

Paul Keres vs. Bobby Fischer, 1959 Candidates Tournament in Bled; Pal Benko watching

The tables below show the qualifiers and results for all interzonal, Candidates and world championship tournaments. Players shown bracketed in italics (Bondarevsky, Euwe, Fine and Reshevsky in 1950, Botvinnik en 1965, Fischer in 1977, Carlsen in 2011) qualified for the Candidates or were seeded in the Candidates, but did not play. Players shown in italics with an asterisk (like: Stein* and Bronstein*) were excluded in 1962 or 1965 from the Candidates by a rule limiting the number of players from one country. Players listed after players in italics (Flohr in 1950, Geller in 1965, Spassky in 1977, Grischuk in 2011) only qualified due to the non-participation of the bracketed players.

The "Seeded into Final" column usually refers to the incumbent champion, but this has a different meaning for the World Chess Championship 1948, in which five players were seeded into the championship tournament, the Classical World Chess Championship 2000 in which two players were seeded into the championship final, the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 in which eight players were seeded into the final championship tournament, and the FIDE World Chess Championship 2007, in which four players were seeded into the final championship tournament.

1948–96: Interzonal and Candidates tournaments

Years	Interzonal Format	Interzonal Qualifiers	Seeded into Candidates	Candidates Format	Candidates Winner(s)	Seeded in Final	Championship Final
1948	None	In 1946–1947, FIDE decided that six players would participate to a tournament. FIDE selected Keres and Fine as the winners of the AVRO 1938 chess tournament which had been recognized as a Candidates tournament for the championship. Reshevsky was selected as multiple champion of the USA, Botvinnik as Soviet champion, Euwe as former world champion and Smyslov was selected because he was one of the few Soviet grandmasters. Fine withdrew from the 1948 tournament.				5 players, Botvinnik, Smyslov, Keres, Reshevsky, Euwe	The Hague/ Moscow 1948 quintuple round robin, 1. Botvinnik 14 / 20 2. Smyslov 11 3.-4. Keres, Reshevsky 10½ 5. Euwe 4
1948–51	Saltsjöbaden (Stockholm) 1948 20 players, single round robin, 8 qualified	1. Bronstein, 2. Szabo, 3. Boleslavsky, 4. Kotov, 5. Lilienthal, 6.-9. Najdorf, Ståhlberg, (Bondarevsky[1]), Flohr	Smyslov, Keres (Euwe, Fine, Reshevsky)	Budapest 1950 10 players, double round robin 1.-2. Boleslavsky, Bronstein 3. Smyslov; 4. Keres	Bronstein (won playoff match against Boleslavsky)	Botvinnik (1948 champion)	Moscow 1951 24 games match Drawn 12–12, Botvinnik retained title
1952–54	Saltsjöbaden (Stockholm) 1952 21 players, single round robin, 8 qualified	1. Kotov, 2.-3. Taimanov, Petrosian, 4. Geller, 5.-8. Averbakh, Ståhlberg, Szabo, Gligorić	Bronstein, Boleslavsky, Smyslov, Keres, Reshevsky, Najdorf,[2] Euwe[3]	Zürich 1953 15 players, double round robin 1. Smyslov 2.-4. Bronstein, Keres, Reshevsky	Smyslov	Botvinnik (1951 champion)	Moscow 1954 24 games match Drawn 12–12, Botvinnik retained title
1955–57	Göteborg 1955 21 players, single round robin, 9 qualified	1. Bronstein, 2. Keres, 3. Panno, 4. Petrosian, 5.-6. Geller, Szabo, 7-9. Filip, Pilnik, Spassky	Smyslov	Amsterdam 1956 10 players, double round robin 1. Smyslov 2. Keres	Smyslov	Botvinnik (1954 champion)	Moscow 1957 Smyslov won 12½–9½
1958	Rematch					Botvinnik, Smyslov	Moscow 1958 Botvinnik won 12½–10½
1958–60	Portorož 1958 21 players, single round robin, 6 qualified	1. Tal, 2. Gligorić, 3.-4. Petrosian, Benko, 5.-6. Olafsson, Fischer	Smyslov, Keres	Yugoslavia[4] 1959 8 players, quadruple round robin 1. Tal; 2. Keres; 3. Petrosian; 4. Smyslov	Tal	Botvinnik (1958 champion)	Moscow 1960 Tal won 12½–8½
1961	Rematch					Botvinnik, Tal	Moscow 1961 Botvinnik won 13–8
1962–63	Stockholm 1962 23 players, single round robin, 6 qualified	1. Fischer, 2.-3. Geller, Petrosian, 4.-5. Korchnoi, Filip, 6.-8. Stein*, Benko[5]	Tal, Keres	Curaçao 1962 8 players, quadruple round robin 1. Petrosian; 2. Keres;[6] 3. Geller; 4. Fischer	Petrosian	Botvinnik (1961 champion)	Moscow 1963 Petrosian won 12½–9½
1964–66	Amsterdam 1964 24 players, single round robin, 6 qualified	1.-4. Smyslov, Larsen, Spassky, Tal, 5. Stein*, 6. Bronstein*, 7. Ivkov, 8.-9. Portisch[7]	Keres, (Botvinnik), Geller	1965: 8 players, matches Semi-finals: Spassky beat Geller Tal beat Larsen	Spassky beat Tal in the final	Petrosian (1963 champion)	Moscow 1966 Petrosian won 12½–11½
1967–69	Sousse 1967 23 players, single round robin, 6 qualified	1. Larsen, 2.-4. Korchnoi, Geller, Gligorić, 5. Portisch, 6.-8. Reshevsky[8]	Spassky, Tal	1968: 8 players, matches Semi-finals: Korchnoi beat Tal Spassky beat Larsen	Spassky beat Korchnoi in the final	Petrosian (1966 champion)	Moscow 1969 Spassky won 12½–10½
1970–72	Palma de Mallorca 1970 24 players, single round robin, 6 qualified	1. Fischer, 2.-4. Larsen, Geller, Hübner, 5.-6. Taimanov, Uhlmann	Petrosian, Korchnoi	1971: 8 players, matches Semi-finals: Petrosian beat Korchnoi Fischer beat Larsen	Fischer beat Petrosian in the final	Spassky (1969 champion)	Reykjavík 1972 Fischer won 12½–8½
1973–75	1973: Two 18 players, single round robin Interzonals; 3 qualified from each	Leningrad 1973: 1.-2. Korchnoi, Karpov, 3. Byrne;	Spassky, Petrosian	1974: 8 players, matches Semi-finals : Korchnoi beat Petrosian Karpov beat Spassky	Karpov beat Korchnoi in the final	Fischer (1972 champion)	1975: Karpov won on forfeit
		Petropolis 1973: 1.Mecking, 2.-4.: Portisch, Polugaevsky[9]
1976–78	1976: Two 20 players, single round robin Interzonals; 3 qualified from each	Biel 1976: 1. Larsen, 2.-4. Petrosian, Portisch[10]	Korchnoi, (Fischer), Spassky	1977-78: 8 players, matches Semi-finals : Korchnoi beat Polugaevsky Spassky beat Portisch	Korchnoi beat Spassky in the final (1977–78)	Karpov (1975 champion)	Baguio City 1978 Karpov won 6–5 after 32 games (draws not counting)
		Manila 1976: 1. Mecking, 2.-3. Polugaevsky, Hort
1979–81	1979: Two 18 players, single round robin Interzonals; 3 qualified from each	Riga 1979: 1.-2. Tal, Polugaevsky, 3.-4. Adorján;[11]	Korchnoi, Spassky	1980: 8 players, matches Semi-finals: Korchnoi beat Polugaevsky Hübner beat Portisch	Korchnoi beat Hübner in the final	Karpov (1978 champion)	Meran 1981 Karpov won 6–2 after 18 games (draws not counting)
		Rio de Janeiro 1979: 1.-3. Portisch, Petrosian, Hübner
1982–85	1982: Three 14 players, single round robin Interzonals; 2 qualified from each	Las Palmas 1982: 1. Ribli, 2. Smyslov;	Korchnoi, Hübner	1983-84: 8 players, matches Semi-finals: Kasparov beat Korchnoi Smyslov beat Ribli	Kasparov beat Smyslov in the final (1984)	Karpov (1981 champion)	Moscow 1984-85 Unlimited match abandoned after 48 games with Karpov leading 5–3 (draws not counting)
		Toluca 1982: 1.-2. Portisch, Torre
1985		Moscow 1982: 1. Kasparov, 2. Beliavsky;				replay : Karpov, Kasparov	Moscow 1985 24 games match Kasparov won replay 13–11
1986	Rematch					Karpov, Kasparov	London/Leningrad 1986 Kasparov won 12½–11½
1985–87	1985: Three 16–18 players, single round robin Interzonals; 4 qualified from each	Biel 1985: 1. Vaganian, 2. Seirawan, 3. Sokolov, 4.-6. Short;[12]	Korchnoi, Ribli, Smyslov, Spassky[13] (seeded in tournament) Karpov (seeded in 1987 final)	Montpellier 1985: 16 players, single round robin tournament, 1.-3. Yusupov, Sokolov, Vaganian, 4.-5. Timman[14]	Linares 1987: Karpov beat matches winner (Sokolov) in the final.	Kasparov (1985 champion)	Seville 1987 24 games match Drawn 12–12, Kasparov retained title
		Taxco 1985: 1. Timman, 2. Nogueiras, 3. Tal, 4. Spraggett;
		Tunis 1985: 1. Yusupov, 2. Beliavsky, 3. Portisch, 4.-5. Chernin[15]		1986: 4 players played two rounds of matches: Yusupov beat Timman; Sokolov beat Vaganian and Yusupov.
1987–90	1987: Three 17–18 players, single round robin Interzonals; 3 qualified from each	Subotica 1987: 1.-3. Sax, Short, Speelman;	Sokolov, Timman, Vaganian, Yusupov, Spraggett[13] Karpov (seeded in second round)	1988: 14 players played one round of matches, 1989: Karpov joined winners in quarter finals Semi-finals (1989): Karpov beat Yusupov Timman beat Speelman	Karpov beat Timman in the final (1990)	Kasparov (1987 champion)	New York/Lyon 1990 Kasparov won 12½–11½
		Szirák 1987: 1.-2. Salov, Hjartarson, 3.-4. Portisch;[16]
		Zagreb 1987: 1. Korchnoi, 2.-3. Seirawan, Ehlvest
1990–93	Manila 1990 64 players Swiss, 11 qualified	1.-2. Gelfand, Ivanchuk, 3.-4. Anand, Short, 5.-11. Sax, Korchnoi, Hübner, Nikolić, Yudasin, Dolmatov, Dreev	Timman, Yusupov, Speelman Karpov (seeded in second round)	1991: 14 players, played one round of matches, 1991: Karpov joined winners in quarter-finals Semi-finals (1992): Short beat Karpov Timman beat Yusupov	Short beat Timman in the final (1993)	Kasparov (1990 champion)	London September–October 1993: Kasparov defeated Short 13–8 under the auspices of the PCA;
							Netherlands[17] /Djakarta[18] September–November 1993: Karpov defeated Timman 12½–8½ under the auspices of FIDE
1993–95 (PCA)	Groningen December 1993 54 players Swiss, 7 qualified	1.-2. Adams, Anand, 3.-7. Kamsky, Kramnik, Tiviakov, Gulko, Romanishin	Short	1994-95: 8 players, matches Semi-finals : Kamsky beat Short Anand beat Adams	Anand beat Kamsky in the final (1995)	Kasparov (1993 PCA champion)	New York September–October 1995 20 games match Kasparov won 10½–7½
1993–96 (FIDE)	Biel July 1993 73 players Swiss, 10 qualified	1. Gelfand, 2.-9. Van der Sterren, Kamsky, Khalifman, Adams, Yudasin, Salov, Lautier, Kramnik, 10.-15. Anand[19]	Timman, Yusupov	1994: 12 players played two rounds of matches.	Semi-finals (February 1995): Karpov beat Gelfand, Kamsky beat Salov		Elista 1996 20 games match Karpov won 10½–7½
			Karpov (seeded in the semi-finals)	1995: Karpov joined winners (Gelfand, Kamsky, Salov) in the semi-finals.

1997–2006: Split titles

After 1996, interzonals ceased to exist, but FIDE continued to organize qualifying zonal tournaments.

Classical championships (1998–2004)
Years	Candidates format	Seeded into Candidates			Candidates Winner(s)	Seeded in Final	Championship Final
1998 (Classical)	Cazorla, May–June 1998 10-game match	Kramnik, Shirov (on rating)[20]			Shirov won 5½–3½	Kasparov (1995 champion)	Match never took place
2000 (Classical)	None			Two players seeded in final: Kasparov (1995 champion); Kramnik (on rating)[21]			London: October- November 2000 16-game match Kramnik won 8½–6½
2002–2004 (Classical)	Dortmund July 2002 preliminaries: two four players double round robins; Semi-finals: the first from each group met the second from the other group in mini-matches	Preliminaries:[22] group 1: 1. Shirov, 2.Topalov, 3.Gelfand, 4.Lutz group 2: 1.Bareev, 2.Leko, 3.Adams, 4.Morozevich Semi-finals : Leko beat Shirov and Topalov beat Bareev.			Leko (beat Topalov in the final)	Kramnik (2000 classical champion)	Brissago: September–October 2004 14-game match drawn 7–7, Kramnik retained title
FIDE championships (1997–2005)
Years	Candidates format	Seeded into Candidates			Finalists		Championship Final
1997–1998 (FIDE)	Groningen December 1997, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament	100 players,[23] Quarter-finalists: Adams, Van Wely, Short, Krasenkov, Gelfand, Dreev, Anand and Shirov.[24]			Anand (beat Adams in candidates final) Karpov (1996 FIDE champion)		Lausanne: January 1998 6-game match Drawn 3–3; Karpov won rapid playoff 2–0
1999 (FIDE)	Las Vegas July–August 1999, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament	100 players,[25] Quarter-finalists: Kramnik, Adams, Movsesian, Akopian, Shirov, Nisipeanu, Khalifman, J. Polgar[26]			Semi-finals: Khalifman beat Nisipeanu, Akopian beat Adams		Las Vegas 1999 6-game match Khalifman won 3½–2½
2000 (FIDE)	New Delhi (6 rounds)/final in Tehran November–December 2000 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament with final match played in Tehran	100 players,[27] Quarter-finalists: Anand, Khalifman, Adams, Topalov, Tkachiev, Grischuk, Shirov and Bareev[28]			Semi-finals: Anand beat Adams, Shirov beat Grischuk		Tehran December 2000 6-game match Anand won 3½–½
2001–2002 (FIDE)	Moscow November–December 2001 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament with relatively quick time controls	128 players,[29] Quarter-finalists: Anand, Shirov, Ivanchuk, Lautier, Svidler, Gelfand, Ponomariov and Bareev			Semi-finals: Ponomariov beat Svidler, Ivanchuk beat Anand		Moscow January 2002 8-game match Ponomariov won 4½–2½[30]
2004 (FIDE)	Tripoli June–July 2004 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament with relatively quick time controls	128 players,[31] Quarter-finalists: Topalov, Kharlov, Kasimdzhanov, Grischuk, Radjabov, Dominguez, Adams, Akopian[32]			Semi-finals: Adams beat Radjabov, Kasimdzhanov beat Topalov		Tripoli July 2004 6-game match drawn 3–3; Kasimdzhanov won rapid playoff 1½–½[30]
2005 (FIDE)	None			8 players seeded in final: Kasimdzhanov (FIDE champion); Adams (as FIDE 2004 finalist); Anand, Morozevich, Topalov (on rating), Leko (as classical 2004 finalist),[33] J. Polgár and Svidler (on rating)			San Luis: 8 players, double round robin, September–October 2005 1. Topalov : 10/14 2.-3. Anand and Svidler : 8½/14 4.Morozevich: 7/14
Reunification
2006	Reunification match			Topalov (FIDE champion), Kramnik (classical champion)			Elista October 2006 12-game match drawn 6–6, Kramnik won rapid playoff 2½–1½

2007–present: Reunified title

After the reunification of the FIDE and "classical" titles, the Chess World Cup and FIDE Grand Prix series were introduced as qualification for the Candidates Tournament.

Years	Qualification format	Qualifiers	Seeded into Candidates	Candidates Format	Candidates Winner(s)	Seeded in Final	Championship Final
2005–2007	Chess World Cup 2005 Khanty-Mansiysk November–December 2005 128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament; + mini-matches to establish places 1 through 16. top 10 qualify	1.Ponomariov, 2.Aronian, (3.Bacrot,[34]) 4.Grischuk, 5.Bareev, 6.Gelfand, 7.Rublevsky, 8.Gurevich, 9.Kamsky, 10.Carlsen, 11.Malakhov	Kasimdzhanov, Leko, Adams, J. Polgár (5th-8th of 2005 championship), Shirov, Bacrot (on rating)	Elista: May–June 2007 16 players, two rounds of matches, 4 players qualify for championship tournament	Aronian, Gelfand, Grischuk, Leko[35]	Anand, Svidler, Morozevich (2nd–4th in 2005); Kramnik[36] (2006 Champion)	Mexico City: September 2007 8 players, double round robin 1. Anand 9/14 2.-3. Kramnik and Gelfand: 8/14
2008	Rematch					Kramnik, Anand	Bonn October 2008 12-game match Anand won 6½–4½ to retain the title.
2007–2010	Chess World Cup 2007 Khanty-Mansiysk November–December 2007 128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament	Kamsky beat A. Shirov 2½-1½ in the final.	Topalov (2005 FIDE champion)	Sofia February 2009, 8-game match	Topalov won 4½-2½	Anand (2008 champion)	Sofia April–May 2010 12-game match Anand won 6½–5½ to retain the title.
2008–2012	FIDE Grand Prix 2008–2010 2 qualified[37]	Aronian, Radjabov (Grischuk)[37]	(Carlsen) Grischuk,[37] Kramnik (on rating), Kamsky,[38] Topalov,[39][40] Mamedyarov[41]	Kazan May 2011,[42] 8 players, matches Semifinals: Gelfand defeated Kamsky; Grischuk defeated Kramnik	Gelfand defeated Grischuk in the final 3½–2½	Anand (2010 champion)	Moscow May 2012 12-game match drawn 6–6, Anand won rapid playoff 2½–1½ to retain the title
	Chess World Cup 2009 Khanty-Mansiysk November–December 2009 128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament (1st qualifies)	Gelfand (beat Ponomariov in the final)
2011–2013	Chess World Cup 2011 Khanty-Mansiysk August–September 2011 128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament (top three qualify)	Svidler, Grischuk, Ivanchuk	Gelfand[43] Carlsen, Aronian, Kramnik[44] Radjabov[41]	London[45] March 2013 8 player double round-robin tournament	Carlsen (won Candidates Tournament on tie breaks)	Anand (2012 champion)	Chennai, November 2013 12-game match Carlsen won 6½–3½
2012–2014	FIDE Grand Prix 2012–2013 2 qualified	Topalov, Mamedyarov	Anand[46] Aronian, Karjakin[47] Svidler[41]	Khanty-Mansiysk,[48] March 2014[49] 8 player double round-robin tournament	Anand	Carlsen (2013 champion)	Sochi, November 2014 12-game match Carlsen won 6½-4½ to retain the title
	Chess World Cup 2013 Tromsø August–September 2013 128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament (top two qualify)	Kramnik, Andreikin
2014–2016	FIDE Grand Prix 2014–15 2 qualified	Caruana, Nakamura	Anand[50] Topalov, Giri (ratings)[51] Aronian (wildcard)[51]	Moscow, March 2016 8 player double round-robin tournament	Karjakin	Carlsen (2014 champion)	New York, November 2016 12-game match
	Chess World Cup 2015 Baku October 2015 128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament (top two qualify)	Svidler, Karjakin

Notes

1. Bondarevsky was replaced in Candidates tournament because of illness
2. from previous Candidates
3. from 1948 Championship
4. Bled, Zagreb, Beograd
5. In the play-off, Stein finished first before Benko, and Gligorić third. Stein was eliminated because only three soviet players could qualify from the interzonal to the candidates tournament.
6. after playoff match against Geller
7. Portisch beat Reshevsky in play-off.
8. Hort and Stein were eliminated having a worse Berger tie-break (Neustadtl score), the play-off had ended with all players having 4 / 8.
9. Geller eliminated after play-off
10. Tal eliminated after play-off
11. Ribli eliminated after playoff
12. Van Der Wiel and Torre eliminated after playoff
13. chosen by the organizating federation
14. Timman eliminated Tal in play-off
15. Gavrikov eliminated after playoff
16. Nunn eliminated after Playoff
17. Zwolle (games 1-3) / Arnhem (games 4-6) / Amsterdam (games 7-12)
18. (games 13-21)
19. Epichine, Lputian, Shirov, Ivanchuk and I. Sokolov were eliminated by the tie-break (sum of the opponents Elo ratings).
20. Anand, as a participant in the FIDE world championship cycle, believed he was contractually obligated to not participate in a rival cycle.
21. Negotiations for a 1999 match with Shirov or Anand failed, as did negotiations in 2000, with Anand expressing dissatisfaction with the contract.
22. Kasparov, Anand and other players engaged in the FIDE championship declined the invitation
23. Top seed Kramnik refused to participate on the grounds that 1996 FIDE champion Karpov's direct entry into the final was unacceptable;
    1995 classical champion Kasparov, 1996 finalist Kamsky and 1996 Women champion Z. Polgar refused in advance to participate.
24. Topalov, Ivanchuk, Beliavsky, Salov, Bareev, Georgiev, J. Polgar, Sadler, Akopian, Lautier were eliminated
25. 1998 FIDE champion Karpov, 1998 FIDE finalist Anand (Anand was negotiating to play a match against Kasparov for his title) and 1995 classical champion Kasparov refused to participate
26. 1998 classical championship candidates Shirov and Kramnik were eliminated by Nisipeanu and Adams in quarterfinals.
27. Classical champions Kasparov, Kramnik and 1998 FIDE champion Karpov didn't participate
28. Morozevich, Leko, Krasenkov, Kasimdzhanov, Svidler, Gelfand, Short, Smirin, Dreev, Azmaiparashvili, Rublevsky, Almasi, Xu Jun, Gurevich were eliminated
29. Classical champions Kramnik and Kasparov didn't participate. All other strongest players of the world took part, including former winners of the FIDE World Championship Anand, Khalifman (eliminated in third round) and Karpov (eliminated in first round).
30. Reunification Match with Kasparov never took place
31. Kasparov, Anand, Kramnik, Svidler, Shirov, Ponomariov, Leko, J. Polgár, Gelfand, Bareev, Karpov and Israeli players refused to participate, Morozevich was absent before the first round
32. Ivanchuk, Short, Malakhov, Nisipeanu, Sokolov, Dreev, Akopian, Bacrot, Gurevich, Rublevsky, were eliminated
33. Kramnik (as classical 2004 finalist) declined the invitation, and Kasparov, who had retired from competition, were replaced by J. Polgar and Svidler on rating
34. Bacrot was qualified on rating
35. Aronian beat A.Shirov ; Leko beat Bareev ; Grischuk beat Rublevsky ; Gelfand beat Kamsky
36. Topalov was replaced by Kramnik (2006 Champion)
37. Grischuk, third of FIDE Grand Prix, replaced Carlsen after he withdrew.
38. 2009 candidate, loser of the 2009 Challenger Match
39. 2010 finalist, loser of 2010 World Chess Championship match
40. FIDE to move Candidates Matches, Topalov threatens boycott
41. Nominee of the organizing committee.
42. chessbase.com; Pairings for Candidates Matches are released
43. Loser of the 2012 World Championship match
44. Top three rated players not already qualified
45. Levitov announces FIDE plans for Candidates Tournament in the 2014 World Championship cycle
46. Loser of the 2013 World Championship match
47. Top two rated players not already qualified
48. FIDE Calendar 2014
49. FIDE announces dates for world chess championship cycles
50. Loser of the 2014 World Championship match
51. World Chess Candidates Tournament (FIDE)

See also

• Development of the Women's World Chess Championship

References

• FIDE World Championship events 1948-1990, Mark Weeks' chess pages
• World Championship events 1991-present, Mark Weeks' chess pages
• World Championships pages, Rybka Chess Community Forum