Andrey Esipenko

A Russian grandmaster who won both the European and World Under-16 titles in 2017. In 2022 he was one of 44 elite Russian players to sign an open letter to Vladimir Putin protesting the invasion of Ukraine.

He won the Qatar Masters in 2024 and reached the semi-finals of the 2025 World Cup, beating Vincent Keymer on the way. After losing to Wei Yi on tiebreaks, he beat Nodirbek Yakubboev in the third-place match to qualify for the Candidates.

His first Candidates, in 2026, was a tough one: he finished last with 4½/14.