FIDE Introduces New Qualification Norms for Candidates Tournament

The Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE), or the International Chess Federation, which governs international chess competitions, introduced new qualification reforms for the Candidates Tournament 2024. The outcome of this tournament plays a crucial role in determining the challenger for the World Championship match (i.e., the winner qualifies as a challenger in the match).

As per the new reforms, the number of qualification spots has been increased from two to three to ensure a growing interest in the chess competitions and to boost participation in World Cup. Further, the new reforms lay down that eight players will qualify for the upcoming Candidates Tournament (2024) as per the following qualification paths –

• 1 spot – Runner-up of the FIDE World Championship match 2023
• 3 spots – Top three players of the FIDE World Cup 2023
• 2 spots – Top two players of the FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2023
• 1 spot – Player who will score the most in 2023 in FIDE tournaments (provided that the applicable criteria are satisfied)
• 1 spot – Highest-rated player as per the standard rating (if he or she has participated in a minimum of four eligible tournaments)

Apart from the above points, the new norms also specify how points would be awarded to the players, criteria related to the tournaments, preparation of ranking lists, etc.