Andrey Esipenko

Experience:

First time in the Candidates.

Age: 23

Age became a Grandmaster: 16

March FIDE Rating: 2698

Country: Russia

Overview:

One of the great hopes of Russian chess, Andrey Esipenko, broke into the top ranks at the 2021 Tata Steel Masters where he defeated Magnus Carlsen on the way to a third-place tie and 2815 performance rating. Subsequent strong performances raised his FIDE rating to 2723 a year later.

Esipenko was unable to maintain this level and was not considered a favorite when he entered the 2025 FIDE World Cup. Seeded 27th he was one of the revelations of the event defeating Grandmasters Pouya Idani, Nijat Abasov, Aleksey Grebnev, Vincent Keymer, and Sam Shankland in the knockout competition. He was then defeated in the semifinal tiebreaks by Wei Yi, but advanced to the third place match, where he beat Nodirbek Yakubboev, qualifying for the Candidates.