India, Sept. 18 -- Anish Giri and Matthias Bluebaum finished first and second respectively, at the Grand Swiss 2025 in Samarkand, qualifying for the eight-player 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament. There were some big names in contention for the Candidates' spots in Samarkand, like Alireza Firouzja, Hans Niemann, Arjun Erigaisi and Vincent Keymer, but lost out on tie-breaks in the finals round. Meanwhile, the lesser-known Bluebaum sealed his berth. Magnus Carlsen, who is not part of the ongoing FIDE cycle, slammed the international chess body for their rules, and criticised the qualification process.

The Norwegian pointed out that making tie-breaks the deciding factor would see better players miss out on berths.

Speaking on the Take Take T...