2025 FIDE Circuit

Last updated

2025 FIDE Circuit
Praggnanandhaa in 2025.jpg
R Praggnanandhaa, the current points leader of the 2025 FIDE Circuit
Duration1 January 2025 – 21 December 2025 [a]
Seasons
2026 

The 2025 FIDE Circuit is a system comprising the top chess tournaments in 2025, which serves as a qualification path for the Candidates Tournament 2026. Players receive points based on their performance and the strength of the tournament. A player's final Circuit score is the sum of their seven best results of the year. The winner of the Circuit qualifies for the Candidates Tournament 2026. [1]

Contents

Tournament eligibility

A FIDE-rated individual standard tournament is eligible for the Circuit if it meets the following criteria: [1]

The Circuit also includes the following tournaments:

Points system

Event points

Circuit points obtained by a player from a tournament are calculated as follows:

where:

If multiple weighting coefficients apply these are multiplied together.

Basic points

Basic points for a tournament are awarded depending on the tournament format:

Points are awarded as follows:

1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th
11/108765432

World Championship 2024

For the World Championship 2024, runner-up Ding Liren received points in the 2025 Circuit equal to the basic points for 2nd place multiplied by the k-factor and multiplied by 2. The TPR for this event was calculated as the player's performance rating.

World Cup 2025

For the World Cup 2025, the event points will be equal to the normal number of event points plus the difference between the number of games won and lost (if positive, not more than 2). Anyone who is eliminated in the quarter finals of the event will be deemed to have finished in 5th points for basic points, and as such will all gain 5 basic points.

Player's total and ranking

A player's point total for the ranking is the sum of their best 7 tournaments with the following criteria:

TournamentsStandard events with under 50 players allowedRapid/Blitz allowed
1–541
642
752

Tournaments that could be included in player's results are as follows:

Tournaments

"(M)" denotes the Masters section while "(Ch)" denotes the Challengers section.
"Open" refers to classical tournaments with 50 or more participants.

2025 FIDE Circuit – Eligible Tournaments
TournamentLocationDateTypeP#TARWinner
World Championship Flag of Singapore.svg Singapore Nov 25  Dec 13, 2024FIDE22754 Flag of India.svg Gukesh Dommaraju
Tata Steel (M) Flag of the Netherlands.svg Wijk aan Zee Jan 17  Feb 2Round robin142763+18 Flag of India.svg R Praggnanandhaa
Tata Steel (Ch) Flag of the Netherlands.svg Wijk aan Zee Jan 17  Feb 2Round robin142618+58 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Thai Dai Van Nguyen
Azerbaijan Championship Flag of Azerbaijan.svg Baku Feb 1 15National262641+34 Flag of Azerbaijan.svg Rauf Mamedov
Al-Beruniy (M) Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Tashkent Feb 2 12Round robin102624+38 Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Mukhiddin Madaminov
Al-Beruniy (Ch) Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Tashkent Feb 2 12Round robin102557+58 Flag of Iran.svg Bardiya Daneshvar
Djerba Masters Flag of Tunisia.svg Djerba Feb 15 23Round robin102644+18 Flag of France.svg Marc'Andria Maurizzi
World Junior Championship Flag of Montenegro.svg Petrovac Feb 23 Mar 7FIDE1572560+12 Flag of India.svg Pranav V
Prague (M) Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Prague Feb 25  Mar 7Round robin102721+14 Flag of India.svg Aravindh Chithambaram
Prague (Ch) Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Prague Feb 25  Mar 7Round robin102584 Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Nodirbek Yakubboev
Aeroflot Open Flag of Russia.svg Moscow Feb 28  Mar 7Open1402704+58 FIDE flag icon.png Ian Nepomniachtchi
European Individual Championship Flag of Romania.svg Eforie Mar 14  27Continental3752671+58 Flag of Germany.svg Matthias Blübaum
Agzamov Memorial Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Tashkent Mar 19  30Open1582643+58 Flag of India.svg Nihal Sarin
Reykjavik Open Flag of Iceland.svg Reykjavík Apr 9  15Open4192612+34 Flag of Iran.svg Parham Maghsoodloo
Open Internacional Alicante Flag of Spain.svg Alicante Apr 16  21Open5572599+78 FIDE flag icon.png Volodar Murzin
Grenke Open Flag of Germany.svg Karlsruhe Apr 16  21Open8752638+38 Flag of India.svg Aswath S
Spring Chess Classic Flag of the United States.svg St. Louis Apr 21–30Round robin102585+14 Flag of the United States.svg Andrew Hong
Menorca Open Flag of Spain.svg Menorca Apr 22  27Open3262644 Flag of Ukraine.svg Vasyl Ivanchuk
GCT Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland Flag of Poland.svg Warsaw Apr 24  May 1Rapid & Blitz102741 Flag of Slovenia.svg Vladimir Fedoseev
Sardinia World Chess Festival Flag of Italy.svg Orosei, Sardinia Apr 26  May 4Open1072593+14 Flag of the United States.svg Christopher Yoo
Baku Open Flag of Azerbaijan.svg Baku Apr 27  May 6Open682591+58 Flag of Serbia.svg Aleksandar Indjic
Ljubljana Chess Festival Flag of Slovenia.svg Ljubljana Apr 28  May 4Open1652559+38 Flag of Slovenia.svg Jan Šubelj
GCT Superbet Classic Romania Flag of Romania.svg Bucharest May 6  17Round robin102760+34 Flag of India.svg R Praggnanandhaa
Asian Individual Championship Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Al Ain May 7  15Continental1572652+12 Flag of Iran.svg Bardiya Daneshvar
German Championship Flag of Germany.svg Munich May 15  23National102636+58 Flag of Germany.svg Vincent Keymer
Sharjah Masters Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Sharjah May 17  25Open822690+38 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Anish Giri
TePe Sigeman Flag of Sweden.svg Malmö May 20  26Round robin82647 Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Javokhir Sindarov
American Continental Championship Flag of Brazil.svg Foz do Iguaçu May 23  31Continental2182606+18 Flag of the United States.svg Sam Shankland
Norway Chess Flag of Norway.svg Stavanger May 26  Jun 6Double round robin62790+23 Flag of Norway.svg Magnus Carlsen
Dubai Open Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Dubai May 27  Jun 4Open822620+14 FIDE flag icon.png Aleksey Grebnev
Stepan Avagyan Memorial Flag of Armenia.svg Jermuk May 28  Jun 6Round robin102678+34 Flag of India.svg Aravindh Chithambaram
Delhi International Open Flag of India.svg New Delhi Jun 7  14Open3432550+12 Flag of India.svg Abhijeet Gupta
Münich Whitsun Open Flag of Germany.svg Münich Jun 8  14Open1522594+18 Flag of Norway.svg Elham Amar
UzChess Cup (M) Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Tashkent Jun 18 – 27Round robin102742+18 Flag of India.svg R Praggnanandhaa
UzChess Cup (Ch) Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Tashkent Jun 18 – 27Round robin102582+18 Flag of Greece.svg Nikolas Theodorou
Vladimir Dvorkovich Memorial – Aktobe Open Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Aktobe Jun 20  Jul 1Open802652+58 Flag of Serbia.svg Alexey Sarana
GCT SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia Flag of Croatia.svg Zagreb Jul 2  7Rapid & Blitz102776 Flag of Norway.svg Magnus Carlsen
Biel Masters Tournament Open Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Biel/Bienne Jul 12  24Open1122564+12 Flag of India.svg Karthikeyan Murali
Karpov International Chess Tournament Flag of Russia.svg Khanty-Mansiysk Jul 14  26Round Robin102655+34 Flag of Iran.svg Amin Tabatabaei
Dole Open Flag of France.svg Aix-en-Provence Jul 19  27Open2722646+34 Flag of India.svg P. Iniyan
Oskemen Open Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Oskemen Jul 20  30Open772603+18 FIDE flag icon.png Aleksey Grebnev
Czech Open Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Pardubice Jul 25  Aug 2Open2022562+58 Flag of Germany.svg Alexander Donchenko
British Chess Championship Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Liverpool Aug 2  10National992561 Flag of England.svg Michael Adams
Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Open Flag of Germany.svg Dortmund Aug 2  10Open1962582+58 Flag of Germany.svg Matthias Blübaum
Chennai Grand Masters Flag of India.svg Chennai Aug 7  16Round robin102718+14 Flag of Germany.svg Vincent Keymer
Rubinstein Memorial Flag of Poland.svg Polanica-Zdrój Aug 15  24Round robin102657+38 Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Nodirbek Yakubboev
Abu Dhabi Masters Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Abu Dhabi Aug 15  24Open1952594+34 FIDE flag icon.png Denis Lazavik
GCT Sinquefield Cup Flag of the United States.svg St. Louis Aug 18  28Round robin102761+34 Flag of the United States.svg Wesley So
Fujairah Global Championship Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Fujairah Aug 25  Sep 2Open442660
FIDE Grand Swiss Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Samarkand Sep 3  15FIDE116
Vila Marteli Flag of Argentina.svg Buenos Aires Oct 8  17Open
U.S. Championship Flag of the United States.svg St. Louis Oct 10  26National12
FIDE World Cup Flag of India.svg Goa Oct 31  Nov 27FIDE206
South American Championship Flag of Chile.svg Rancagua Nov 3  8Continental
U.S. Masters Flag of the United States.svg Charlotte Nov 26  30Open
London Chess Classic Flag of the United Kingdom.svg London Nov 26  Dec 2Round robin
London Chess Classic – Open Flag of the United Kingdom.svg London Nov 26  Dec 5Open
European Rapid Championship Flag of Kosovo.svg Pristina Nov 27  Dec 1Rapid
Continental
European Blitz Championship Flag of Kosovo.svg Pristina Nov 27  Dec 1Blitz
Continental
London Chess Classic – Rapid Flag of the United Kingdom.svg London Dec 5  7Rapid
World Rapid Championship Flag of Qatar.svg Doha Dec 25  31Rapid
FIDE
World Blitz Championship Flag of Qatar.svg Doha Dec 25  31Blitz
FIDE

Ranking

At the end of 2025, the best player in the Circuit will qualify for the Candidates Tournament 2026, provided that they played in at least 5 tournaments (including at least 4 in standard time controls). Among these tournaments, there shall be at least 2 standard tournaments with participations of more than 50 players (if they played in 6 or 7 tournaments) or at least 1 standard tournament with participations of more than 50 players (if they played in 5 tournaments).

Tournament results which can't be counted for qualification for the Candidates Tournament 2026 are marked in   pink. "(M)" denotes the Masters section of tournaments while "(Ch)" denotes the Challengers section.

Top 25 as of August 28, 2025 [2]
No.PlayerPointsEvents1234567
1 Flag of India.svg R Praggnanandhaa 107.005 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Tata Steel (M)
1st – 25.00
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Prague (M)
T 2nd-4th – 11.06
Flag of Poland.svg GCT Poland R&B
3rd – 8.44
Flag of Romania.svg GCT Romania Classic
1st – 23.90
Flag of Armenia.svg Avagyan Memorial
2nd – 15.19
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg UzChess (M)
1st – 22.19
Flag of the United States.svg Sinquefield Cup
T 2nd-3rd – 20.72
2 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Anish Giri 52.774 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Tata Steel (M)
T 5th-6th – 6.58
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Prague (M)
T 2nd-4th – 11.06
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Sharjah
1st – 20.94
Flag of Croatia.svg GCT Croatia R&B
7th – 0.00
Flag of India.svg Chennai
2nd – 14.19
Optional
3 Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Nodirbek Abdusattorov 50.783 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Tata Steel (M)
3rd – 18.42
Flag of Romania.svg GCT Romania Classic
T 6th-9th – 0.00
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Sharjah
3rd – 13.80
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg UzChess (M)
3rd – 18.56
Flag of Croatia.svg GCT Croatia R&B
6th – 0.00
Flag of the United States.svg Sinquefield Cup
10th – 0.00
Optional
4 Flag of Germany.svg Matthias Blübaum 44.574 FIDE flag icon.png European Champ
1st – 15.73
Flag of Germany.svg German Champ
2nd – 10.93
Flag of Germany.svg Dortmund
1st – 6.89
Flag of Poland.svg Rubinstein Memorial
3rd – 11.02
RequiredOptional
5

Flag of Norway.svg Magnus Carlsen

43.962 Flag of Norway.svg Stavanger
1st – 28.78
Flag of Croatia.svg GCT Croatia R&B
1st – 15.18
RequiredOptional
6

Flag of the United States.svg Fabiano Caruana

41.652 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Tata Steel (M)
9th – 0.00
Flag of Romania.svg GCT Romania Classic
4th – 0.00
Flag of Norway.svg Stavanger
2nd – 20.93
Flag of Croatia.svg GCT Croatia R&B
8th – 0.00
Flag of the United States.svg Sinquefield Cup
T 2nd-3rd – 20.72
Optional
7 Flag of India.svg Aravindh Chithambaram 41.322 Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Prague (M)
1st – 24.34
Flag of Poland.svg GCT Poland R&B
8th – 0.00
Flag of Armenia.svg Avagyan Memorial
1st – 16.98
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg UzChess (M)
10th – 0.00
Flag of Poland.svg Rubinstein Memorial
5th – 0.00
Optional
8 Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Ding Liren 40.641 FIDE flag icon.png World Champ
2nd – 40.64
RequiredOptional
9

Flag of Germany.svg Vincent Keymer

39.042 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Tata Steel (M)
8th – 0.00
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Prague (M)
5th – 0.00
Flag of Germany.svg German Champ
1st – 15.03
Flag of India.svg Chennai
1st – 24.01
RequiredOptional
10 Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Javokhir Sindarov 35.942 Flag of Sweden.svg Malmö
1st – 16.17
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg UzChess (M)
2nd – 19.77
RequiredOptional
11

Flag of the United States.svg Wesley So

35.032 Flag of Romania.svg GCT Romania Classic
T 6th-9th – 0.00
Flag of Croatia.svg GCT Croatia R&B
2nd – 11.04
Flag of the United States.svg Sinquefield Cup
1st – 23.99
RequiredOptional
12 Flag of Serbia.svg Aleksandar Inđić 34.135 Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Tashkent Open
7th – 2.69
Flag of Germany.svg Grenke Open
15th – 0.00
Flag of Azerbaijan.svg Baku Open
1st – 10.08
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Sharjah
2nd – 14.75
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Dubai Open
5th – 6.61
Optional
13 Flag of India.svg Nihal Sarin 33.484 Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Tashkent Open
1st – 15.80
Flag of Spain.svg Menorca
8th – 1.23
FIDE flag icon.png Asian Champ
2nd – 12.96
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Dubai Open
6th – 3.49
Flag of India.svg Chennai
5th – 0.00
Optional
14 Flag of Iran.svg Bardiya Daneshvar 33.396 Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Al-Beruniy (Ch)
1st – 6.34
Flag of Russia.svg Aeroflot Open
9th – 3.58
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Tashkent Open
4th – 8.98
FIDE flag icon.png Asian Champ
1st – 14.49
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Sharjah
15th – 0.00
Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Aktobe Open
35th – 0.00
Optional
15 Flag of India.svg Gukesh Dommaraju 32.032 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Tata Steel (M)
2nd – 22.37
Flag of Romania.svg GCT Romania Classic
T 6th-9th – 0.00
Flag of Norway.svg Stavanger
3rd – 0.00
Flag of Croatia.svg GCT Croatia R&B
3rd – 9.66
Flag of the United States.svg Sinquefield Cup
8th – 0.00
Optional
16 Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Nodirbek Yakubboev 31.814 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Tata Steel (Ch)
T 4th-5th – 6.52
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Prague (Ch)
1st – 7.98
FIDE flag icon.png Asian Champ
15th – 0.00
Flag of Armenia.svg Avagyan Memorial
6th – 0.00
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg UzChess (M)
7th – 0.00
Flag of Poland.svg Rubinstein Memorial
1st – 17.31
Optional
17

Flag of Iran.svg Amin Tabatabaei

30.964 Flag of Russia.svg Aeroflot Open
6th – 6.85
FIDE flag icon.png Asian Champ
79th – 0.00
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Sharjah
6th – 6.98
Flag of Russia.svg Khanty-Mansiysk
1st – 17.13
RequiredOptional
18 Flag of France.svg Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 30.282 Flag of Poland.svg GCT Poland R&B
2nd – 9.64
Flag of Romania.svg GCT Romania Classic
T 2nd-3rd – 20.64
Flag of the United States.svg Sinquefield Cup
T 5th-7th – 0.00
RequiredOptional
19

FIDE flag icon.png Aleksey Grebnev

30.046 FIDE flag icon.png World Junior Champ
6th – 2.57
FIDE flag icon.png Asian Champ
14th – 0.00
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Sharjah
36th – 0.00
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Dubai Open
1st – 11.42
Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Oskemen Open
1st – 9.80
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Abu Dhabi
4th – 6.25
Optional
20 Flag of Slovenia.svg Vladimir Fedoseev 29.052 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Tata Steel (M)
4th – 15.79
Flag of Poland.svg GCT Poland R&B
1st – 13.26
RequiredOptional
21

Flag of Armenia.svg Shant Sargsyan

28.225 Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Al-Beruniy (M)
2nd – 9.64
FIDE flag icon.png European Champ
18th – 0.00
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Sharjah
5th – 7.93
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Dubai Open
4th – 7.22
Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Aktobe Open
8th – 3.43
Flag of Russia.svg Khanty-Mansiysk
9th – 0.00
Optional
22

Flag of Ukraine.svg Vasily Ivanchuk

25.835 Flag of Tunisia.svg Djerba
9th – 0.00
FIDE flag icon.png European Champ
42nd – 0.00
Flag of Iceland.svg Reykjavik
2nd – 5.83
Flag of Spain.svg Alicante
3rd – 5.89
Flag of Spain.svg Menorca
1st – 12.67
Flag of Sweden.svg Malmö
8th – 0.00
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg UzChess (Ch)
4th – 1.44
23

Flag of Norway.svg Elham Amar

23.197 FIDE flag icon.png World Junior Champ
3rd – 4.39
Flag of Iceland.svg Reykjavik
8th – 2.79
Flag of Germany.svg Grenke Open
11th – 0.00
Flag of Italy.svg Sardinia
6th – 2.88
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Sharjah
8th – 5.08
Flag of Germany.svg Munich
1st – 8.05
Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Aktobe Open
21st – 0.00
24 Flag of France.svg Marc'Andria Maurizzi 22.023 Flag of Tunisia.svg Djerba
1st – 16.14
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Prague (Ch)
3rd – 5.88
FIDE flag icon.png European Champ
220th – 0.00
RequiredOptional
25 Flag of India.svg Karthikeyan Murali 20.914 Flag of Spain.svg Menorca
3rd – 8.35
FIDE flag icon.png Asian Champ
11th – 0.00
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Biel/Bienne
1st – 7.10
Flag of India.svg Chennai
4th – 5.46
RequiredOptional

Notes

  1. Tournaments other than national championships and zonal and continental tournaments must end by 15 December

References

  1. 1 2 "FIDE CIRCUIT 2025 REGULATIONS" (PDF). FIDE. 25 December 2024. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  2. "FIDE Circuit". fide.com. Retrieved 30 July 2025.

See also