Chess outsiders triumph at World Cup in Goa and battle for Candidates spots
The four semi-finalists, led by Wei Yi, will battle for three 2026 Candidates places – none of them has reached this stage before
The $2m World Cup in Goa will be remembered as an event where established stars were humbled and knocked out by supposedly lesser lights.
At 26, China’s Wei Yi is the oldest in Friday’s semi-finals. He was once a prodigy, renowned for his brilliant attacking style and the youngest to surpass an elite 2700 rating, but then opted to take a six-year break from chess to study economics and management, which he says he does not regret. He made a statement return in 2024, winning the “chess Wimbledon” at Wijk aan Zee, and the 2026 Candidates is his main target.