India, Dec. 8 -- R Praggnanandhaa qualified for the 2026 Candidates Tournament after winning the FIDE Circuit 2025. The Indian GM took the lead in the circuit in May by going past Ding Liren, and then went on to keep his position throughout the season. Then by the end of May, his main rivals (Anish Giri, Fabiano Caruana, Matthias Bluebaum and Javokhir Sindarov) had already qualified for the tournament via other paths, and Vincent Keymer didn't have any classical events for the rest of this year.

But Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who was in action at the London Chess Classic Elite, had a small chance to catch up.

The Indian GM made a late entry to the London Chess Classic, and bagged a 7/9 score in a strong field, tying for first place, and tak...