Tiebreak rules, stage, format, time for FIDE Chess Candidates 2024

FIDE Candidates 2024: Here are all the tiebreak rules, stage, format and time for the Candidates chess tournament.

Gukesh will face Nakamura in the 14th round. | Photo Credit: FIDE/Michał Walusza

India’s 17-year-old sensation D. Gukesh has created waves after leading the FIDE Candidates 2024 chess tournament ahead of the last round, happening in Toronto, Canada.

Gukesh will take on USA’s Hikaru Nakamura in the 14th round with black pieces.

Nakamura, the world no. 3 is placed joint-second alongside his compatriot Fabiano Caruana and two-time Candidates winner Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi.

If Gukesh beats Nakamura, he will win the competition with a minimum of 0.5 points lead. However, it can be a two-way tie for the first place if the Indian draws his round and one of Nepomniachtchi or Caruana, who are facing each other wins their round.

If Gukesh loses to Nakamura and the game between Nepomniachtchi and Caruana ends in a draw then the streamer-player will ascend the throne.

Another possibility is that one of Nepomniachtchi or Caruana will finish tied on top with Nakamura after winning their final round, assuming Nakamura defeats Gukesh. 

In the case of a tie for the first place, tiebreaks will be played on Tuesday.

The tiebreak will start at 12 AM IST.

Here are all the Candidates 2024 tiebreak rules.

Tiebreaks for First Place:

STAGE I:

Two-player tie:

Two players tied for first place will engage in a two-game match with a time control of 15 minutes for each player, with a 10-second increment per move, starting from move 1.

Three to six-player tie:

If there are between 3 and 6 players tied for first place, they will participate in a single round-robin tournament with a time control of 15 minutes for each player, plus a 10-second increment per move, starting from move 1.

Seven or eight-player tie:

In the case of either 7 or 8 players tied for first place, they will compete in a single round-robin tournament with a time control of 10 minutes for each player, plus a 5-second increment per move, starting from move 1.

STAGE II:

Two-player tie:

If the tie persists after Stage I, the two players will face each other again in a two-game match with a time control of 3 minutes for each player, plus a 2-second increment per move, starting from move 1.

More than two-player tie:

For ties involving more than two players after Stage I, they will participate in another round-robin tournament with the same time controls as in the two-player tie-break.

STAGE III:

If necessary, a knockout tournament will be held among the players still tied after Stage II. Each match will consist of one game with a time control of 3 minutes for each player, plus a 2-second increment per move, starting from move 1. If a game is drawn, subsequent games will be played with reversed colors until a decisive result is achieved.

Tiebreaks for Positions other than First Place:

Tie-breaks for positions other than first place will be determined as follows:

Later round reached in Stage III of the playoff.

Total number of points scored in Stage II of the playoff.

Total number of points scored in Stage I of the playoff.

If no tie for first place after 14 rounds:

If there’s no tie for first place after 14 rounds, tie-breaks will be applied to determine the positions of players as follows:

Sonneborn-Berger System.

Total number of wins in the tournament.

The results of the games played between the tied players, if applicable.