The most accurate chess thinkers worldwide, the most prolific grandmasters in the world, 128 of them, began the 2017 FIDE World Cup with solid hopes of taking one of the two qualifying spots for next year’s Candidates Tournament. Today, those two spots belong to Levon Aronian (Armenia) and Ding Liren (China).
At the semi-final stage of the knockout World Cup, Aronian opposed Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France), while Liren came up against Wesley So (USA). Having beaten their respective opponents, Aronian and Liren will now both enter the Candidates Tournament in March 2018, which will feature eight participants. Both qualifiers, and their respective nations, will be playing the Candidates for the first time. The winner of the Candidates Tournament will oppose Magnus Carlsen of Norway for the chess championship of the world.