Dominguez Arrives In Sitges As Hunt For Candidates Begins

GM Leinier Dominguez has arrived in Spain where he will play the Chessable Sunway Sitges Chess Festival to battle for a coveted spot in the Candidates tournament.

This week the Cuban-born American, currently the world's seventh-ranked player, confirmed his participation in the open tournament in Sitges, Spain, half an hour's drive from Barcelona, bringing a new level of excitement to the 10th edition of the event.

We have a new top seed player: welcome to @Chessable @SunwayChessOpen GM Leinier Domínguez 🇺🇸! Excited to have #7 player in the world in this special 10th edition of our tournament, in his attempt to qualify for the @FIDE_chess Candidates Tournament!
📷 (Leinier): @davidllada pic.twitter.com/haCNERa3hR

— Sunway Chess Festival (@SunwayChessOpen) December 9, 2023

"It's great news for us that Leinier is here, particularly taking into account that it's our 10th anniversary this edition," Chief Organizer Oskar Stober Blázquez told Chess.com.

"We have had some some great players here in recent years, but to have someone who is fighting for his spot in the Candidates, a top-ten player, could never be a realistic goal, so it's great to have this option. Personally I feel kind of "bad" for him that he has to play an open tournament, but on the other hand I'm obviously glad that we get to have him here," Stober added.

All eyes in Sitges will be on Dominguez, the clear rating favorite among the 36 grandmasters participating, The 40-year-old is fighting for a spot in the 2024 FIDE Candidates tournament, where six out of eight players have already secured their places. Two spots remain up for grabs, with one reserved for the highest-rated player on FIDE's January 2024 rating list.

Currently GM Wesley So leads that race by one rating point ahead of Dominguez, but while So is likely done playing this year, Dominguez has set his eyes on the open tournament with one mission: gain rating points.

The 40-year-old entered the race by finishing second in the recent Sinquefield Cup, where he gained 11 rating points and climbed to world number-seven. "It's a nice chance. It's not every day you get a chance to fight for the Candidates. I will do it," he said during the broadcast in St. Louis.

According to FIDE's regulations, Dominguez will likely need to play at least five of the rounds in Sitges, but chess statistician Tai Pruce-Zimmerman, who follows the race to the Candidates closely on X/Twitter account Chess by the Numbers, says he is bound to make it if he just gains one rating point during those rounds. 

"I haven't seen a clarification from FIDE on how a tie for the rating spot would be broken. I believe typically the player with the most games played in the most recent month is listed higher on a given rating list. If that is how a rating tie is to be broken then if Dominguez simply plays Sitges, and gains at least one rating point, he will pass So for the ratings-based Candidates qualifying spot," he says.

GM Anish Giri is still in pole-position for the FIDE Circuit spot, as GM Gukesh Dommaraju was unsuccessful in his attempt to catch up by winning the London Chess Classic. The youngster could get another chance to qualify through the Chennai Grandm Masters in India, a mysterious tournament scheduled to begin on December 15.

The field there is yet to be announced, but according to German blogger Perlen vom Bodensee, Gukesh is likely to take part in the event, along with GMs Parham Maghsoodloo, Pavel Eljanov, Levon Aronian, Arjun Erigaisi and several others. 

But first, all eyes are on the Chessable Sunway Sitges Chess Festival, which kicks off with the first round on Tuesday, December 12.