News: The FIDE World Cup 2025 will be hosted in Goa, India.
About FIDE World Cup 2025
- Organizer: The event is being organized by FIDE (International Chess Federation).
- Timing: The tournament will take place from October 30 to November 27, 2025.
- Number of Players: A total of 206 chess players from more than 90 countries will participate.
Tournament Format
- Knockout format: The competition will follow a knockout format, where a player must win to move forward.
- If a player loses, they are immediately eliminated from the tournament.
- Match format:
- The World Cup will be played over eight rounds in total.
- Each match between two players will have two classical games.
- If the score is tied after these games, there will be tie-breaks on the third day.
- The top 50 players will receive a bye in the first round, meaning they start directly from round two.
- The knockout system works like other sports World Cups, where only winners advance to the next round.
Candidates Tournament
- The World Cup is important because the top three finishers will qualify for the 2026 Candidates Tournament.
- The Candidates Tournament decides who will challenge the reigning World Chess Champion.
- This makes the FIDE World Cup a key step toward the World Championship title.
Big names and Indian players
- The reigning World Champion D Gukesh from India will play in the event.
- Viswanathan Anand, a five-time World Champion and FIDE Deputy President, is also listed, though he is semi-retired.
- Other famous Indian players include Praggnanandhaa R, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, Nihal Sarin, and Aravindh Chithambaram among others.
- In total, 21 Indian players have qualified for the tournament.
