FIDE World Cup returns to India after 23 long years, Goa to host showpiece event

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New Delhi: The Chess World Cup is making a return to India after 23 long years after Goa was awarded the hosting rights for this year’s edition. Goa will host the FIDE World Cup 2025 from October 30 to November 27 with the month-long competition expected to create waves in the country.

The Hyderabad hosted the event back in 2002 when legendary Indian chess player Viswanathan Anand clinched the title with Uzbekistan’s Rustam Kasimdzhanov finishing as runner-up. As many as 206 participants from across the world are set to battle in one of chess’s most exciting showdowns with a mammoth prize fund of USD 2,000,000 on the line.

The who’s who of the chess world starting from the youngest world champion D Gukesh to Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana and R Praggnanandhaa among others with feature among the participants. But the reigning champion Gukesh is not a part of the Candidates qualification race so whether he participates in the WC for the prize money and rating points is yet to be seen.

Viswanathan Anand to be a part?

Out of the total number of participants, hosts India will have 21 players in the entry list which also includes the name of five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand. Anand has made the cut via the June 2025 FIDE rating list but his participation remains uncertain as he has not player classical chess for while.

Apart from the Indian talents like Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin also feature in the list of the players qualified for the marquee event. As far as the tournament is concerned, it will be played in two-game knockout format over eight rounds. There will be two classical games with rapid and blitz playoffs if tied.

Meanwhile, the top-50 seeds will enter from round two as they will receive byes in the first while the players ranked from 51 to 206 will compete on pairings based on principle of the top half against the bottom.

‘Every round is win-or-go-home, making the World Cup one of the most dramatic tournaments on the calendar,’ FIDE said on its website on Tuesday.