Drawing of lots for the Candidates and the Women’s Candidates, the most prestigious chess tournament, has been held in Toronto, Canada.
Azerbaijani chess player Nijat Abasov will face Ian Nepomniachtchi in the first round, followed by games against Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, Dommaraju Gukesh, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, and Santosh Vidit, respectively.
The 8-player double round-robin chess tournament is scheduled to commence on April 3-23 in Toronto, Canada. It will determine the Challenger for the World Chess Championship Match 2025. Notably, for the first time in history, both the Women’s and Open Candidates tournaments will be held in the same venue.