Fabiano Caruana continued his 2023 hot streak at the end of November, and after clinching the 2023 GCT Sinquefield Cup, he became the winner of the FIDE Circuit. Given that Caruana already qualified for the Candidates in the World Cup, the second place in the FIDE Circuit (which gives a ticket to the Candidates) is worth its weight in gold. Dommaraju Gukesh, Anish Giri and Arjun Erigaisi will fight for this spot at the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships in Samarkand.