Arjun's chances of qualifying for the next Candidates tournament in 2026.

12th of December is an extremely important day for Indian chess fans! Why? Well, that's because two Indian youngsters are taking fort in two different countries today with an aim to make history! Gukesh in Singapore and Arjun in Qatar. While Gukesh has a chance to become the 18th World Champion today, Arjun can come extremely close to becoming the first player to qualify for the next Candidates that will take place in 2026. What are Arjun's chances? Well, firstly he has to win at all costs today. His opponent is the strong Andrey Esipenko (2682) in the final round of the Qatar Masters Open 2024. Arjun (6.5) is half a point behind Andrey (7) and is in a must-win situation. The good news is that Arjun has white. If Arjun manages to win, he wins the Qatar Masters Open 2024. This means that his FIDE circuit score will get boosted by 16.6 points. Caruana is currently at 130.4 and Arjun with this victory will leapfrog him and reach 131.4. Yes, the World Rapid and Blitz 2024 will still be left that could impact the FIDE circuit, but this will be a huge boost for Arjun's chance to reach the Candidates. Arjun has been playing phenomenal chess and after his last round win against Karthikeyan Murali has reached world no.3 spot with an live Elo of 2802.2 Credit : Team Chess Base India Ref: https://x.com/ChessbaseIndia/status/1867102977913413880?t=gheIbWDnKj6jh1qfAGKt0w&s=19