Chess World Cup 2025

Last updated
FIDE Chess World Cup 2025
Tournament information
Sport Chess
Location Goa, India
Dates31 October 2025–27 November 2025
Administrator FIDE
Tournament
format(s)
Single-elimination tournament
Host(s) All India Chess Federation
Participants206
  2023
2027 

The Chess World Cup 2025 is an upcoming 206-player, single-elimination chess tournament that will take place in Goa, India from 31 October to 27 November 2025. [1] [2] [3] It will be the 11th edition of the Chess World Cup. The winner, runner-up, and third place finisher will earn the right to play in the Candidates Tournament 2026. This edition is the first since the inaugural Women's Chess World Cup in 2021 that will not be held in parallel with the women's event, which was instead held in Georgia earlier in the year. [4]

Contents

Magnus Carlsen is the defending champion. [5]

Format

The tournament will be an eight-round knockout event, with the top 50 seeds given a bye into the second round. The losers of the two semi-finals will play a match for third place. The players who finish first, second, and third will qualify for the Candidates Tournament 2026, a tournament to decide the challenger for the upcoming World Championship. [6] [7]

Each round will consist of classical time limit games on the first two days, plus tie-breaks on the third day if they are required. The time limits are as follows:

Two classical time limit games consisting of 90 minutes each side for the first 40 moves, then 30 extra minutes for the rest of the game, plus a 30-second increment per move starting from move 1. If necessary, rapid format tie-breaks will be conducted on the third day of each round. [6]

Schedule

Each round will last three days: two for classical time control games and a third, if necessary, for tie-breaks. Rounds 1 to 3 will run from November 1 to 9; November 10 is a rest day; Rounds 4 to 6 will run from November 11 to 19; November 20 is a rest day; and the last two rounds will run from November 21 to 26.

Prize money

The total prize fund is US$2,000,000, with the first prize of US$120,000.

Prize money in US dollars
RankingPrizesTotal
Eliminated in Round 1
78 × 3,500
273,000
Eliminated in Round 2
64 × 7,000
448,000
Eliminated in Round 3
32 × 11,000
352,000
Eliminated in Round 4
16 × 17,000
272,000
Eliminated in Round 5
8 × 25,000
200,000
Eliminated in Round 6
4 × 35,000
140,000
4th place
1 × 50,000
50,000
3rd place
1 × 60,000
60,000
Runner-up
1 × 85,000
85,000
Winner
1 × 120,000
120,000
Total
2,000,000

Participants

The current qualifiers are seeded here by their FIDE rating of July 2025, excluding Gukesh D, who is seeded first as the reigning World Chess Champion. All players are grandmasters unless indicated otherwise. [8]

  1. Flag of India.svg  Gukesh Dommaraju  (IND), 2776 (World Champion)
  2. Flag of Norway.svg  Magnus Carlsen  (NOR), 2839 (WC)
  3. Flag of the United States.svg  Hikaru Nakamura  (USA), 2807 (R)
  4. Flag of the United States.svg  Fabiano Caruana  (USA), 2784 (WC)
  5. Flag of India.svg  R Praggnanandhaa  (IND), 2779 (WC)
  6. Flag of India.svg  Arjun Erigaisi  (IND), 2776 (R)
  7. Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Nodirbek Abdusattorov  (UZB), 2771 (R)
  8. Flag of France.svg  Alireza Firouzja  (FRA), 2766 (R)
  9. Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Wei Yi  (CHN), 2748 (R)
  10. Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Anish Giri  (NED), 2748 (R)
  11. Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Shakhriyar Mamedyarov  (AZE), 2746 (R)
  12. Flag of the United States.svg  Wesley So  (USA), 2745 (R)
  13. Flag of India.svg  Viswanathan Anand  (IND), 2743 (R)
  14. FIDE flag icon.png  Ian Nepomniachtchi  (FIDE), 2742 (R)
  15. Flag of the United States.svg  Levon Aronian  (USA), 2742 (Z2.1)
  16. Flag of Slovenia.svg  Vladimir Fedoseev  (SLO), 2739 (E24)
  17. Flag of the United States.svg  Lenier Dominguez Perez  (USA), 2738 (Z2.1)
  18. Flag of France.svg  Maxime Vachier-Lagrave  (FRA), 2736 (R)
  19. Flag of the United States.svg  Hans Moke Niemann  (USA), 2736 (R)
  20. Flag of Germany.svg  Vincent Keymer  (GER), 2730 (FN)
  21. Flag of Vietnam.svg  Lê Quang Liêm  (VIE), 2729 (FN)
  22. Flag of India.svg  Aravindh Chithambaram  (IND), 2724 (R)
  23. Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Javokhir Sindarov  (UZB), 2722 (FN)
  24. Flag of India.svg  Vidit Gujrathi  (IND), 2720 (FN)
  25. Flag of Hungary.svg  Richard Rapport  (HUN), 2715 (FN)
  26. Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Jorden van Foreest  (NED), 2698 (E25)
  27. Flag of Iran.svg  Parham Maghsoodloo  (IRI), 2695 (FN)
  28. Flag of the United States.svg  Awonder Liang  (USA), 2693 (Z2.1)
  29. Flag of India.svg  Nihal Sarin  (IND), 2692 (AS25)
  30. FIDE flag icon.png  Daniil Dubov  (FIDE), 2691 (Z3.8)
  31. Flag of the United States.svg  Ray Robson  (USA), 2687 (Z2.1)
  32. Flag of Serbia.svg  Alexey Sarana  (SER), 2686 (FN)
  33. Flag of the United States.svg  Samuel Sevian  (USA), 2683 (Z2.1)
  34. FIDE flag icon.png  Andrey Esipenko  (FIDE), 2679 (Z3.8)
  35. Flag of Romania.svg  Bogdan-Daniel Deac  (ROU), 2674 (E24)
  36. Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Thai Dai Van Nguyen  (CZE), 2674 (FN)
  37. FIDE flag icon.png  Vladislav Artemiev  (FIDE), 2672 (Z3.8)
  38. Flag of England.svg  Nikita Vitiugov  (ENG), 2671 (E24)
  39. Flag of the United States.svg  Sam Shankland  (USA), 2670 (AM25)
  40. Flag of Armenia.svg  Shant Sargsyan  (ARM), 2669 (E25)
  41. Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  David Navara  (CZE), 2662 (E25)
  42. Flag of Serbia.svg  Aleksandar Inđić  (SRB), 2661 (E24)
  43. Flag of Croatia.svg  Ivan Šarić  (CRO), 2661 (E25)
  44. Flag of Germany.svg  Matthias Blübaum  (GER), 2660 (E25)
  45. Flag of the United States.svg  Grigoriy Oparin  (USA), 2660 (FN)
  46. Flag of Germany.svg  Frederik Svane  (GER), 2659 (E24)
  47. Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Rauf Mamedov  (AZE), 2659 (E24)
  48. Flag of England.svg  Michael Adams  (ENG), 2654 (FN)
  49. Flag of Turkey.svg  Ediz Gürel  (TUR), 2652 (E25)
  50. Flag of Poland.svg  Radoslaw Wojtaszek  (POL), 2651 (FN)
  51. Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Shamsiddin Vokhidov  (UZB), 2650 (AS25)
  52. Flag of India.svg  Karthikeyan Murali  (IND), 2650 (AS25)
  53. Flag of Hungary.svg  Benjamin Gledura  (HUN), 2648 (E25)
  54. Flag of Spain.svg  Daniil Yuffa  (ESP), 2647 (E24)
  55. Flag of the United States.svg  Jeffery Xiong  (USA), 2646 (AM24)
  56. Flag of Israel.svg  Maxim Rodshtein  (ISR), 2645 (E25)
  57. Flag of Norway.svg  Johan-Sebastian Christiansen  (NOR), 2642 (FN)
  58. Flag of Ukraine.svg  Vasily Ivanchuk  (UKR), 2641 (FN)
  59. Flag of Iran.svg  Bardiya Daneshvar  (IRI), 2640 (Z3.1)
  60. Flag of Serbia.svg  Velimir Ivić  (SRB), 2639 (E24)
  61. Flag of Norway.svg  Aryan Tari  (NOR), 2636 (E25)
  62. Flag of Egypt.svg  Bassem Amin  (EGY), 2633 (AF24)
  63. Flag of France.svg  Étienne Bacrot  (FRA), 2631 (FN)
  64. Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Ivan Cheparinov  (BUL), 2630 (E24)
  65. Flag of Armenia.svg  Robert Hovhannisyan  (ARM), 2629 (E24)
  66. Flag of Spain.svg  Maksim Chigaev  (ESP), 2628 (E24)
  67. Flag of Armenia.svg  Haik Martirosyan  (ARM), 2628 (E25)
  68. Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Daniel Dardha  (BEL), 2627 (E24)
  69. Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  Salem Saleh  (UAE), 2627 (FN)
  70. Flag of Armenia.svg  Gabriel Sargissian  (ARM), 2626 (E24)
  71. Flag of Turkey.svg  Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus  (TUR), 2626 (E25)
  72. Flag of Greece.svg  Nikolas Theodorou  (GRE), 2625 (FN)
  73. Flag of Spain.svg  David Antón Guijarro  (ESP), 2625 (FN)
  74. Flag of Mexico.svg  José Martínez Alcántara  (MEX), 2622 (AM25)
  75. Flag of Germany.svg  Rasmus Svane  (GER), 2619 (E24)
  76. Flag of France.svg  Maxime Lagarde  (FRA), 2618 (E25)
  77. Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Max Warmerdam  (NED), 2618 (FN)
  78. FIDE flag icon.png  Evgeniy Najer  (FIDE), 2614 (Z3.8)
  79. Flag of Germany.svg  Alexander Donchenko  (GER), 2608 (E24)
  80. Flag of Georgia.svg  Baadur Jobava  (GEO), 2605 (E25)
  81. FIDE flag icon.png  Arseniy Nesterov  (FIDE), 2601 (Z3.8)
  82. Flag of Chile.svg  Cristobal Henriquez Villagra  (CHI), 2599 (AM24)
  83. FIDE flag icon.png  Ivan Zemlyanskii  (FIDE), 2599 (AS25)
  84. Flag of Peru.svg  Jorge Cori  (PER), 2599 (FN)
  85. Flag of India.svg  S L Narayanan  (IND), 2597 (AS25)
  86. Flag of Romania.svg  Alexander Motylev  (ROU), 2595 (E24)
  87. Flag of Croatia.svg  Ante Brkić  (CRO), 2594 (FN)
  88. Flag of Iran.svg  Pouya Idani  (IRI), 2593 (Z3.1)
  89. Flag of India.svg  Pranesh M  (IND), 2592 (AS25)
  90. Flag of Germany.svg  Niclas Huschenbeth  (GER), 2591 (E25)
  91. Flag of Egypt.svg  Ahmed Adly  (EGY), 2589 (AF25)
  92. Flag of Turkey.svg  Mustafa Yilmaz  (TUR), 2586 (FN)
  93. Flag of Latvia.svg  Arturs Neiksans  (LAT), 2584 (FN)
  94. Flag of Poland.svg  Mateusz Bartel  (POL), 2581 (E24)
  95. Flag of Greece.svg  Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis  (GRE), 2580 (E25)
  96. Flag of Singapore.svg  Tin Jingyao  (SGP), 2579 (Z3.3)
  97. Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Nijat Abasov  (AZE), 2578 (WC)
  98. Flag of Romania.svg  Constantin Lupulescu  (ROU), 2578 (E24)
  99. Flag of India.svg  Diptayan Ghosh  (IND), 2576 (Z3.7)
  100. Flag of Montenegro.svg  Nikita Petrov  (MNE), 2576 (FN)
  101. Flag of Poland.svg  Kacper Piorun  (POL), 2575 (E24)
  102. Flag of Hungary.svg  Gergely Kantor  (HUN), 2573 (E25)
  103. Flag of Brazil.svg  Luis Paulo Supi  (BRA), 2573 (FN)
  104. Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Bai Jinshi  (CHN), 2571 (Z3.5)
  105. Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Ju Wenjun  (CHN), 2570 (WWC)
  106. Flag of India.svg  Surya Shekhar Ganguly  (IND), 2566 (Z3.7)
  107. Flag of Brazil.svg  Krikor Mekhitarian  (BRA), 2564 (Z2.4)
  108. Flag of Brazil.svg  Alexandr Fier  (BRA), 2562 (AM25)
  109. Flag of India.svg  P Iniyan  (IND), 2558 (AS25)
  110. Flag of India.svg  Raja Rithvik R  (IND), 2557 (AS25)
  111. FIDE flag icon.png  Vladislav Kovalev  (FIDE), 2557 (E24)
  112. Flag of Italy.svg  Lorenzo Lodici  (ITA), 2554 (FN)
  113. Flag of Lithuania.svg  Titas Stremavičius  (LTU), 2549 (FN)
  114. Flag of Slovenia.svg  Jan Šubelj  (SLO), 2549 (FN)
  115. FIDE flag icon.png  Sergei Lobanov  (FIDE), 2548 (AS25)
  116. Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Sebastian Bogner  (SUI), 2543 (FN)
  117. Flag of Turkey.svg  Emre Can  (TUR), 2542 (E24)
  118. Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Ahmad Ahmadzada  (AZE), 2541 (E25)
  119. Flag of Argentina.svg  Diego Flores  (ARG), 2541 (FN)
  120. Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazybek Nogerbek  (KAZ), 2540 (U20)
  121. Flag of India.svg  Karthik Venkataraman  (IND), 2540 (Z3.7)
  122. Flag of France.svg  Paul Velten  (FRA), 2536 (E25)
  123. Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Temur Kuybokarov  (AUS), 2535 (Z3.6)
  124. Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Denis Makhnev  (KAZ), 2535 (FN)
  125. Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Martin Petrov  (BUL), 2534 (FN)
  126. Flag of Colombia.svg  Jose Cardoso Cardoso  (COL), 2532 (AM25)
  127. Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Read Samadov  (AZE), IM, 2522 (E25)
  128. Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Peng Xiongjian  (CHN), 2520 (Z3.5)
  129. Flag of Austria.svg  Felix Blohberger  (AUT), 2516 (FN)
  130. Flag of India.svg  Aronyak Ghosh  (IND), IM, 2514 (Z3.7)
  131. Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bojan Maksimović  (BIH), 2514 (FN)
  132. Flag of Moldova.svg  Jegor Lashkin  (MDA), 2514 (FN)
  133. Flag of Algeria.svg  Bilel Bellahcene  (ALG), 2513 (AF25)
  134. Flag of Colombia.svg  Roberto Garcia Pantoja  (COL), 2512 (AM24)
  135. Flag of India.svg  Lalit Babu MR  (IND), 2512 (Z3.7)
  136. Flag of the United States.svg  Kirk Ghazarian  (USA), 2511 (AM24)
  137. Flag of Romania.svg  Mircea-Emilian Parligras  (ROU), 2505 (FN)
  138. Flag of Turkmenistan.svg  Saparmyrat Atabayev  (TKM), 2505 (FN)
  139. Flag of Armenia.svg  Karen H Grigoryan  (ARM), 2502 (FN)
  140. Flag of Egypt.svg  Adham Fawzy  (EGY), 2498 (FN)
  141. Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Alisher Suleymenov  (KAZ), 2497 (Z3.4)
  142. Flag of Mexico.svg  Sion Galaviz  (MEX), IM, 2494 (Z2.3.1)
  143. Flag of Colombia.svg  Santiago Avila Pavas  (COL), 2490 (FN)
  144. Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Aldiyar Ansat  (KAZ), IM, 2489 (Z3.4)
  145. Flag of Cuba.svg  Dylan Isidro Berdayes Ason  (CUB), 2488 (FN)
  146. Flag of India.svg  Himal Gusain  (IND), IM, 2477 (Z3.7)
  147. Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Mukhammadzokhid Suyarov  (UZB), IM, 2473 (Z3.4)
  148. Flag of India.svg  Neelash Saha  (IND), IM, 2466 (Z3.7)
  149. Flag of Mexico.svg  Kevin Cori Quispe  (MEX), 2461 (FN)
  150. Flag of Singapore.svg  Jagadeesh Siddharth  (SGP), 2459 (FN)
  151. Flag of India.svg  G B Harshavardhan  (IND), IM, 2454 (AS25)
  152. Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  Wang Shixu B  (CHN), IM, 2452 (Z3.5)
  153. Flag of Madagascar.svg  Fy Antenaina Rakotomaharo  (MAD), 2450 (FN)
  154. Flag of Chile.svg  Pablo Salinas Herrera  (CHI), 2435 (FN)
  155. Flag of Japan.svg  Tran Thanh Tu  (JPN), IM, 2430 (FN)
  156. Flag of Mongolia.svg  Ganzorig Amartuvshin  (MGL), IM, 2430 (FN)
  157. Flag of Peru.svg  Steven Rojas  (PER), IM, 2425 (Z2.4)
  158. Flag of Uruguay.svg  Facundo Vazquez  (URU), IM, 2417 (Z2.5)
  159. Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Mohammad Fahad Rahman  (BAN), IM, 2416 (FN)
  160. Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Ranindu Liyanage  (SRI), IM, 2410 (FN)
  161. Flag of Argentina.svg  Ilan Schnaider  (ARG), IM, 2404 (Z2.5)
  162. Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Shiyam Thavandiran  (CAN), IM, 2398 (Z2.2)
  163. Flag of Colombia.svg  Angel Cordova Roa  (COL), FM, 2396 (Z2.3.2)
  164. Flag of Mongolia.svg  Uurtsaikh Agibileg  (MGL), IM, 2380 (Z3.3)
  165. Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Farai Mandizha  (ZIM), IM, 2375 (FN)
  166. Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Manon Reja Neer  (BAN), IM, 2373 (Z3.2)
  167. Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Satbek Akhmedinov  (KAZ), IM, 2365 (Z3.4)
  168. Flag of Zambia.svg  Chitumbo Mwali  (ZAM), IM, 2365 (FN)
  169. Flag of New Zealand.svg  Felix Xie  (NZL), FM, 2365 (FN)
  170. Flag of Monaco.svg  Igor Efimov  (MCO), 2326 (Z1.10)
  171. Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Jaloliddin Ilkhomi  (TJK), FM, 2315 (FN)
  172. Flag of Barbados.svg  Orlando Husbands  (BAR), IM, 2291 (Z2.3.3)
  173. Flag of South Africa.svg  Daniel Barrish  (RSA), FM, 2284
  174. Flag of Nigeria.svg  Bomo Kigigha  (NGR), FM, 2263 (FN)
  175. Flag of Iraq.svg  Akar Ali Salih Salih  (IRQ), FM, 2212 (FN)
  176. Flag of Tunisia.svg  Zoubaier Amdouni  (TUN), FM, 2186 (FN)
  177. Flag of Palestine.svg  Mohamed Allam  (PLE), CM, 2100 (FN)

Qualifier explanation

The following 206 players qualified, or will qualify, for the World Cup: [6]

Notes

  1. Players who appear inactive at least once in the 6 FIDE rating lists from January to June 2025 are not eligible.

References

  1. "India to host FIDE World Cup in 2025; three Candidates spots up for grabs". The Indian Express. 2025-01-22. Retrieved 2025-01-26.
  2. "FIDE World Cup to take place in India". Chess News. 2025-07-23. Retrieved 2025-07-24.
  3. "FIDE World Cup 2025 heads to Goa, India". fide.com. 2025-08-26. Retrieved 2025-08-26.
  4. "India to Host FIDE Chess World Cup 2025, Marking a Major Milestone". 2025-01-23. Retrieved 2025-01-26.
  5. Selkirk (beccrajoy), Rebecca (2023-08-24). "FIDE World Chess Cup (Final): Carlsen Wins, Caruana Places 3rd". Chess.com. Retrieved 2025-01-26.
  6. 1 2 3 "2025 World Cup regulations, FIDE" (PDF).
  7. "FIDE World Championship Cycle". International Chess Federation (FIDE). Retrieved 2025-08-26.
  8. "Participants – FIDE World Cup 2025" . Retrieved 2025-08-26.
  9. "Olympiad qualification spots for 2025 World Cup and Women's World Cup announced".