The Candidates Tournament 2024 and Women's Candidates Tournament 2024 were held concurrently for the first time to determine the challengers for the World Chess Champion Ding Liren and Women's World Chess Champion Ju Wenjun.[1] The winner of the Candidates Tournament, Gukesh D will play Ding in the World Chess Championship 2024, while Ju will defend her title against Tan Zhongyi in 2025.
The World Championship runner-up will no longer get an automatic Candidates spot in the 2024–2026 cycle. Instead, the World Championship match will be an eligible tournament for the FIDE Circuit in 2025, which is one of the qualification paths for the Candidates Tournament 2026.[2]