Fabiano Caruana Leads Strong Candidates Field in Cyprus, Favored Over Hikaru Nakamura

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Caruana Leads Candidates Field in Cyprus; Bookies Favor Him Over Nakamura

Fabiano Caruana has the highest odds of winning the 2026 Candidates Tournament despite Hikaru Nakamura being the top-rated among the eight players in action. Image credit: Saint Louis Chess Club

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Firstpost•15-03-2026, 07:00

Caruana Leads Candidates Field in Cyprus; Bookies Favor Him Over Nakamura

•The 2026 Candidates Tournament will be held from March 28 to April 16 in Pegeia, Cyprus.
•Eight elite Grandmasters will compete for the right to challenge current FIDE World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju.
•Fabiano Caruana (world No. 3) is the top favorite over Hikaru Nakamura (world No. 2) according to bet365 odds.
•Caruana has an implied probability of 38.1% to win, Nakamura 27.8%, and R Praggnanandhaa 16.7%.
•Other qualifiers include Anish Giri, Matthias Bluebaum, Javokhir Sindarov, Wei Yi, and Andrey Esipenko.

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