New Delhi
India will host the 2025 FIDE Chess World Cup from October 30 to November 27, the international chess body FIDE announced on Monday. The name of the host city will be shared later.
This major global event will see 206 top players competing in a knockout format. The top three finishers will directly qualify for the 2026 Candidates Tournament, which decides who will challenge for the next World Chess Championship title.
The FIDE World Cup follows a single-elimination format introduced in 2021. Each round lasts three days—two days of classical matches followed by a tie-break, if needed. In the first round, the top 50 players get a bye, while players ranked 51 to 206 compete. The matchups are based on the principle of the top half playing against the reversed lower half.
FIDE said, “The prestigious FIDE World Cup is coming to India this year! It will bring the world’s best players together and offer a chance to qualify for the 2026 Candidates Tournament.”
India has recently hosted several big chess tournaments, such as the 2022 Chess Olympiad, Tata Steel Chess India, the 2024 FIDE World Junior U20 Championships, and the 2025 Women’s Grand Prix.
FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky expressed his excitement. “India has deep love for chess. Fans have always shown great energy, and we expect strong local and online support,” he said. FIDE also plans to organise many side events during the tournament, featuring participants and well-known chess legends.
