3 min readMar 20, 2026 12:23 PM IST He might’ve snuck into the chess Candidates at the last moment finishing third at the World Cup. But Andrey Esipenko ensured that at least one Russian represented the plateauing powerhouse of chess, after Ian Nepomniatchi couldn’t make the grade. At Elo 2698, he’s dropped from his peak with 2723 in March 2022, but he is ranked World No 33 (again down from 22 in March 2022). Esipenko nevertheless lines up at Cyprus, alongside seven others, with Americans Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura as favourites, and Indian R Praggnanandhaa and Chinese Wei Yi as dark horses. Recently married at 23, and a lover of travel, Esipenko has found the going not-so-easy in chess, after he became GM at age 16. There’s no dearth of competitive spirit in him, as he rejoices in wins over arch rivals that he dubs “eliminating.” In true Russian Lev Yashin-tradition, he also takes immense pride in his goalkeeping abilities on a football patch of a field. In December of 2021 in fact, he …