The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has officially confirmed that India will host the FIDE World Cup 2025. The tournament will take place from October 30 to November 27, 2025. The FIDE World Cup is one of the most prestigious events in global chess and plays a critical role in the qualification process for the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament.
Key Highlights
Format of the Tournament
- Number of Players: 206 participants.
- Structure: Knockout (single-elimination) format.
- Round Format: Each round spans 3 days:
- Day 1 & 2: Two classical games.
- Day 3: Tie-breaks, if needed.
- Seeding:
- Top 50 players receive byes in Round 1.
- Players ranked 51–206 compete in Round 1.
- Pairings follow the top-half vs reverse lower-half format.
What’s at Stake?
- Top 3 finishers will secure direct qualification for the 2026 Candidates Tournament, which determines the challenger for the World Chess Championship.
- The event is also a prestigious title competition in itself, attracting the world’s top talent.
Qualification Paths for 2025 World Cup
Players can qualify through multiple routes:
Automatic Qualifications:
- Reigning World Champion (as of June 1, 2025)
- Top 4 from FIDE World Cup 2023
- Reigning Women’s World Champion (as of June 1, 2025)
- World Junior (U-20) Champion 2024
Continental and Regional Qualifications:
| Region | Continental Spots | Top Juniors | Top Players | Total |
| Africa | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Americas | 3 | 0 | 9 | 12 |
| Asia | 3 | 6 | 26 | 35 |
| Europe | 3 | 2 | 25 | 30 |
Other Qualification Routes:
- 80 spots from continental events.
- 13 highest-rated players (June 2025 FIDE standard rating list) not qualified otherwise.
- Top 100 national federations from the 2024 Chess Olympiad Open Section each receive 1 spot.
- 4 FIDE President’s nominees.
- 2 Organiser’s nominees.
India: A Chess Powerhouse and Host Nation
- India last hosted the FIDE World Cup in 2002, where Viswanathan Anand emerged as champion.
- In 2025, the country returns as the host, backed by a new generation of elite players.
Top Indian Players in Focus:
- Gukesh Dommaraju: Became youngest FIDE World Chess Champion at 18.
- R. Praggnanandhaa: Runner-up in 2023 World Cup.
- Arjun Erigaisi: Ranked World No. 5.
India’s Recent Chess Achievements
- 2024 Chess Olympiad: India won first-ever team golds in both Open and Women’s sections.
- 4 individual golds at Olympiad: Gukesh, Erigaisi, Savitha Deshmukh, Raunak Agrawal.
- Koneru Humpy: Gold at 2024 FIDE Women’s Rapid Championship.
- Vaishali Rameshbabu: Bronze at 2024 FIDE Women’s Blitz Championship.
Major Tournaments Hosted Recently
- FIDE Chess Olympiad 2022
- Tata Steel Chess India
- FIDE World Junior U20 Championship 2024
- FIDE Women’s Grand Prix (5th Leg, April 2025)
Why It Matters?
- Hosting the FIDE World Cup 2025 cements India’s status as a global chess hub.
- It reflects India’s rising dominance in international chess, driven by talent, infrastructure, and strong institutional support.
- With home-ground advantage and a line-up of rising stars, India is a serious contender for top honours at the 2025 event.
Key Facts
- FIDE: Fédération Internationale des Échecs (International Chess Federation), headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Candidates Tournament: The event that decides the official challenger for the reigning World Champion.
- World Chess Championship: The most prestigious title in the sport.
- Knockout format in chess: A single-elimination model where players are eliminated upon losing a match.