One of the prestigious chess tournaments, FIDE World Cup, will be held in India between October 30-November 27, 2025, said the International Chess Federation (FIDE). However, the global chess body has not announced the city that will host the event.
“The prestigious 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,” FIDE said on Monday.
“Further details, including the announcement of the host city, will be released in due course,” the global chess body added. According to FIDE, the knockout tournament will have 206 players. 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. 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.
Unconfirmed news reports had earlier said the event will be held in Delhi or in Goa. In 2002, the World Cup was held in Hyderabad and won by former World Champion Grandmaster (GM) Viswanathan Anand.
India: A chess powerhouse
Curiously, the FIDE announcement was made at a time when Indian GM Koneru Humpy qualified for the semi-finals in the FIDE Women’s World Cup being held in Batumi in Georgia.
One more Indian – GM D Harika or International Master (IM) Divya Deshmukh will also enter the last four as their game has gone into a tiebreaker. At least one Indian player will qualify for the Women’s Candidates tournament –the first three players- that would decide the challenger for the World Women’s Champion.
Meanwhile FIDE said, India has become a dominant force in the chess world, thanks in part to five-time World Champion and FIDE Deputy President Anand, whose efforts and legacy have been instrumental in popularising chess in the country, the International Chess Federation said.
According to FIDE, 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 Vantika Agrawal.
Additionally, Humpy secured gold at the 2024 FIDE Women’s Rapid Championship, and Vaishali Rameshbabu earned bronze at the 2024 FIDE Women’s Blitz Championship. FIDE added.
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 said.
“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 organising numerous side events, featuring tournament participants and chess legends,” FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky said.
Indian players like Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Erigaisi, Anand, Aravindh, Chithambaram VR, Nihal Sarin, Iniyan Pa and several others are qualified to compete in the event.
Several top chess masters in the world are expected to compete in the event.
