Registration has officially closed for the 2025 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Team Championships, and it’s the biggest edition yet! With teams from every corner of the globe confirmed, this year’s event has attracted nearly 60 teams, a remarkable increase from the 38 who participated in 2024 and 36 in the inaugural 2023 edition (which featured only the Rapid competition). With average team ratings ranging from 1747 to 2695, the tournament truly represents the global chess community – uniting elite super grandmasters, rising stars, and ambitious amateurs.
Let’s take a closer look at the top contenders in the line-up:
Once again, WR Chess has assembled a dream team. Organised by Wadim Rosenstein, the reigning Blitz champions, and 2023 Rapid champions, return with a slightly different cast of familiar faces. While Magnus Carlsen led the team in 2024, this year’s roster includes Alireza Firouzja, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Hikaru Nakamura, and the returning Wesley So (from the 2023 edition). Also returning are Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and former Women’s World Champions Hou Yifan and Alexandra Kosteniuk. With so much firepower and fan appeal, WR Chess will once again be the team to watch. But with fierce competition ahead, winning both titles will be no easy feat.
Ranked second on the starting list is another powerhouse: Hexamind Chess Team. The team boasts a lineup led by seasoned Grandmasters Levon Aronian, Leinier Dominguez Perez, Vladimir Kramnik, and Peter Svidler, players who have long defined elite chess. Complementing their experience are Indian stars Vidit Gujrathi and Divya Deshmukh, alongside David Muradyan. The balance of generations and styles gives this team real championship potential.
The 2024 World Rapid Team Champions, Al-Ain ACMG UAE, are also back to defend their crown. With a core lineup featuring Vladislav Artemiev, Daniil Dubov, Dmitry Andreikin, Volodar Murzin, Kateryna Lagno, and Wafiya Darvish al-Maamari, the team remains one of the most formidable in the field. One notable change is the absence of Parham Maghsoodloo, who has switched sides this year to play for KazChess, the fourth-ranked team. There, he joins Richard Rapport and Alexander Grischuk in one of the tournament’s most intriguing rosters.
This reshuffling of players is part of what makes this event so fascinating for spectators. Unlike the Olympiad, where national teams are fixed, this championship allows a mix of backgrounds, bringing together unexpected partnerships and rivalries and teams that have played together in the past may have an edge when it comes to synergy and coordination.
Another crowd-favourite team is ranked fifth. Freedom is led on board one by none other than Viswanathan Anand. The five-time World Champion leads a rich lineup including Le Quang Liem, Samuel Sevian, Haik Martirosyan, Anna Muzychuk, Sarbartho Mani, Alexey Sarana, Rauf Mamedov, and Teodora Injac (fresh off her 2025 European Women’s Championship title).
With other big names such as Arjun Erigaisi, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, and Vincent Keymer also in action, fans are guaranteed a feast of rapid-fire chess and high-stakes blitz battles.
The full team list is available on the official website: worldrapidblitzteams2025.fide.com
About the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships
Now in its third edition, the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Team Championships will take place from June 10–16, 2025, at the Novotel London West, London. The event is open to national federations, clubs, cities, universities, companies, or any formally organized teams of six to nine players. Each team must include at least one female player and one recreational player (unrated or rated under 2000).
The tournament begins with the Rapid competition, held from June 11–13, following a 12-round Swiss format with a time control of 15 minutes plus 10 seconds increment per move. This is followed by the Blitz tournament, which introduces a two-stage structure: a round-robin pool stage on June 14, and a knockout phase for the top 16 teams on June 15. Blitz games will be played with a time control of 3 minutes plus 2 seconds increment per move.
With a record total prize fund of €500,000 (€310,000 allocated to Rapid and €190,000 to Blitz) this edition will be the richest in the event’s history. Prizes will also be awarded to the best female teams, best mixed-gender teams, and top recreational players.
For more information, visit the official website.