2 min readUpdated: Mar 29, 2026 01:36 PM IST
Before things got intense – or hair-pulling intense at least – at the Cyprus Candidates, FIDE went about quizzing the male contenders on what they liked, and their pet peeves. Some interesting confessions turned up.
On their first day at the Candidates, all 8 male contenders posed with green slates, filling in their likes and dislikes. The most intriguing remained debutant Andrey Esipenko who wrote ‘Tottenham’ in the box labelled ‘i don’t like…’. For what he liked, he scribbled, “winning.” The Russian also said, “This year I will be ….a better person.” Esipenko is also debuting denim- bespoke suits.
Other pet peeves: Matthias Blübaum did not like photo sessions, Chinese Wei Yi did not like losing, and Javokhir Sindarov disliked Math. Hikaru Nakamura, at his 4th Candidates, confessed a dislike of spiders and caves, his compatriot Fabiano Caruana didn’t like mosquitos, and Anish Giri hated to lose.
One of the youngest players in the field — yet he says he already feels old in chess 😱
After years at the top level, Pragg reflects on his journey and what it’s like to compete among the world’s best.
▶️ Watch the full interview on our YouTube channel!https://t.co/SGbNoin3z7… pic.twitter.com/MXQj7UkXEY
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) March 29, 2026
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Two of the more cheeky ‘I don’t like..’ entries: R Praggnanandhaa saying he didn’t like chess, just like Blübaum. But the Indian was being cheeky, because in what he liked, he said, ‘chess’ too. German Blübaum liked ‘pizza’ alongside ‘chess’ as well. Pragg also played it smart, when he said, “This year I want to be….21.”
Wei Yi liked winning, while Sindarov dug playing video games, and wanted to be Top 5 in chess.
Nakamura also scribbled he wanted to be a better father this year, while Caruana declared. “This year I want to be world champion,” in his 6th appearance. Gukesh awaits.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
