FIDE Candidates 2024 Toronto: Live streaming, TV channel, where and how to watch

India makes record-breaking appearance as chess stars vie for World Championship glory.

Toronto hosts the elite FIDE Candidates 2024 Chess Tournament from April 3-22, marking North America’s first, where top chess players vouch for chess supremacy.

Candidates is a high-stakes tournament, as it provides an opportunity for winners of both the open and women’s categories to challenge the reigning world champion China’s Ding Liren and Ju Wenjun, in the World Championship match.

This year’s Candidates Tournament is particularly special for India too, which sees significant representation. In a historic first, three Indian grandmasters—Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Dommaraju Gukesh, and Vidit Gujrathi—have qualified for the open category. The women’s category sees the participation of Vaishali R and Koneru Humpy.

Koneru Humpy, the seasoned 37-year-old grandmaster, is no stranger to the Candidates, having played it multiple times. Meanwhile, upcoming players like Gukesh D (17), Praggnanandhaa R (18), and his sister Vaishali R (22) are set to make their debut. Vidit Gujrathi, at 29, known for his consistent performance in high-stakes events.

FIDE Candidates 2024: Format

• Each player plays against all the others two times, once with the white pieces and once with the black. There are 14 games in total, with four days off.
• Scoring is simple: win and earn one point, tie and get half a point, and if you lose, you get no points. Whoever has the most points after all 14 games wins the tournament.
• For each game, players have two hours to make their first 40 moves. After that, they get an extra 30 minutes for the rest of the game. Plus, starting from the 41st move, they get an extra 30 seconds for every move they make.
• If at the end of the tournament two players have the same highest score, they’ll play a couple of faster games called rapid chess to decide the winner. If there’s a tie among more than two players, they’ll all play each other in short games. And if there’s still a tie, they’ll play even faster games called blitz chess.

India’s squad for FIDE Candidates 2024

Men

• Praggnanandhaa R (India, 2747) – qualified as the 2023 World Cup runner-up
• Vidit Gujrathi (India, 2747) – qualified as the 2023 Grand Swiss winner
• Gukesh D (India, 2747) – qualified as the 2023 FIDE Circuit winner

Women

• Humpy Koneru (India, 2546) – qualified as the best by rating on January 1, 2024. The rating spot became available as a replacement for the Women’s World Cup winner, since Goryachkina had already qualified through the WGP.
• Vaishali R (India, 2481) – qualified as the 2023 Women’s Grand Swiss winner.

When and where will FIDE Candidates 2024 take place?

The FIDE 2024 Candidates Chess Tournament will take place in Toronto, Canada, starting on April 3 and concluding on April 22.

Where and how to watch the live telecast of FIDE Candidates 2024 in India?

An official broadcast for the FIDE Candidates 2024 in India has yet to be announced.

Where and how to watch FIDE Candidates 2024 live streaming in India?

Chess enthusiasts can live stream the tournament LIVE on the FIDE YouTube channel.

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