Caruana the Favorite
More Candidates predictions for - and by - Caruana.
The 2026 Candidates, to select a challenger for the next World Championship match against titleholder Dommaraju Gukesh, begins at the end of the month. While Hikaru Nakamura is the top seed by rating, his inactivity from classical chess has many people picking the second-seeded Fabiano Caruana as their favorite. Here are Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Arjun Erigaisi (two players who could easily have been in the Candidates themselves and, had they made it, they would have been among the favorites to win it all) offering their picks.
As for Caruana, what does he think? Have a look.