The FIDE World Cup is coming to India this year! Scheduled for October 30 to November 27, 2025, the tournament will feature the world’s best players battling for the coveted title and qualification spots in the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament.
Format
The FIDE World Cup 2025 will feature 206 players competing in a knockout format—a dynamic and unpredictable system where the losing player in each round is eliminated.
The event has used several formats over the years, but since 2021, it has followed a single-elimination format. Each round spans three days: two classical games on the first two days, followed by tie-breaks on the third day, if necessary. In the first round, the top 50 players receive byes, while players seeded from 51 to 206 compete, with pairings based on the principle of the top half versus the reversed lower half.
What’s at stake?
The top three finishers of the 2025 World Cup will earn direct qualification for the 2026 Candidates Tournament, which determines the challenger for the World Chess Championship.
Qualification Paths
Players can qualify for the World Cup through various avenues, including:
- Reigning World Champion as of June 1, 2025
- Top four finishers from the FIDE World Cup 2023
- Reigning Women’s World Champion as of June 1, 2025
- 2024 World Junior Champion U-20
- Qualifiers from Continental events, accounting for 80 spots
- The highest-rated players in the June 2025 FIDE standard rating list, 13 players, who have not qualified by any of the above listed path
- Top 100 national federations from the 2024 Chess Olympiad open section, each receiving one spot
- 4 nominees of the FIDE President
- 2 nominees of the Organiser
Detailed information on qualification can be found in the official FIDE handbook.
India: A chess powerhouse
This year’s World Cup being held in India is particularly exciting. India has become a dominant force in the chess world, thanks in part to five-time World Champion and FIDE Deputy President Viswanathan Anand, whose efforts and legacy have been instrumental in popularizing chess in the country.
India’s young stars include Gukesh Dommaraju, who became the youngest FIDE World Chess Champion at 18, Praggnanandhaa R, the runner-up of the 2023 World Cup, and Arjun Erigaisi, currently ranked world number five.
In 2024, both the Indian Open and Women’s teams claimed their first-ever gold medals at the Chess Olympiad—a historic achievement further highlighted by four individual gold medals won by Gukesh, Erigaisi, Deshmukh, and Agrawal. Additionally, Koneru Humpy secured gold at the 2024 FIDE Women’s Rapid Championship, and Vaishali Rameshbabu earned bronze at the 2024 FIDE Women’s Blitz Championship.
India has also recently hosted major events, including the FIDE Chess Olympiad 2022, Tata Steel Chess India, the FIDE World Junior U20 Championships 2024, and the 5th leg of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix (April 2025).
These accomplishments underscore India’s status as a global chess hub, making it a fitting venue for the FIDE World Cup 2025.
FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky expressed his excitement: “We are thrilled to bring the FIDE World Cup 2025 to India, a country with a deep-rooted passion and support for chess. Indian chess fans’ enthusiasm has always been remarkable, and we anticipate great interest in the event among local chess lovers, both on-site and online. To enhance the experience, FIDE is committed to organizing numerous side events, featuring tournament participants and chess legends.”
Further details, including the announcement of the host city, will be released in due course. FIDE looks forward to an exhilarating tournament that continues to celebrate and advance the game of chess worldwide.
The list of qualified players: https://worldcup2025.fide.com/participants/