The 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.
Format
In this insightful video course, Grandmaster David Navara shares practical advice on when to calculate deeply in a position — and just as importantly, when not to.
Free sample video: Introduction
Free sample video: Invisible moves
The FIDE World Cup 2025 will feature 206 players competing in a knockout format—a dynamic and unpredictable system where the losing player in each round is eliminated.
The event has used several formats over the years, but since 2021, it has followed a single-elimination format. 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.
What’s at stake?
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.
Qualification paths
Players can qualify for the World Cup through various avenues, including:
- Reigning World Champion as of June 1, 2025
- Top four finishers from the FIDE World Cup 2023
- Reigning Women’s World Champion as of June 1, 2025
- 2024 World Junior Champion U-20
The Classical Sicilian has stood the test of time as one of the most principled and fighting defences against 1.e4. With its rich history spanning world championship matches and modern elite tournaments, this opening remains a favourite among players who seek a dynamic, counterattacking approach without venturing into extreme theoretical battles like the Najdorf or Sveshnikov.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: 6.h3
- Qualifiers from Continental events, accounting for 80 spots
- The highest-rated players in the June 2025 FIDE standard rating list, 13 players, who have not qualified by any of the above listed path
- Top 100 national federations from the 2024 Chess Olympiad open section, each receiving one spot
- 4 nominees of the FIDE President
- 2 nominees of the Organiser
Detailed information on qualification can be found in the official FIDE handbook.
India: A chess powerhouse
This year’s World Cup being held in India is particularly exciting. India has become a dominant force in the chess world, thanks in part to five-time World Champion and FIDE Deputy President Viswanathan Anand, whose efforts and legacy have been instrumental in popularizing chess in the country.
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 Agrawal. Additionally, Koneru Humpy secured gold at the 2024 FIDE Women’s Rapid Championship, and Vaishali Rameshbabu earned bronze at the 2024 FIDE Women’s Blitz Championship.
Photo: Stev Bonhage
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 CEO Emil Sutovsky expressed his excitement: “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 organizing numerous side events, featuring tournament participants and chess legends.”
Further details, including the announcement of the host city, will be released in due course. FIDE looks forward to an exhilarating tournament that continues to celebrate and advance the game of chess worldwide.
Players qualified for the FIDE World Cup 2025
World Champion 2024 (1 player)
1. Gukesh D (IND)
World Cup 2023 (4 players)
2. Carlsen, Magnus (NOR)
3. Praggnanandhaa R (IND)
4. Caruana, Fabiano (USA)
5. Abasov, Nijat (AZE)
Women’s World Champion 2025 (1 player)
6. Ju Wenjun
World Junior Champion 2024 (1 player)
7. Nogerbek, Kazybek (KAZ)
Rating in June 25 FIDE Rating List (13 players)
8. Nakamura, Hikaru (USA)
9. Erigaisi, Arjun (IND)
10. Abdusattorov, Nodirbek (UZB)
11. Firouzja, Alireza (FRA)
12. Wei, Yi (CHN)
13. Nepomniachtchi, Ian (FIDE)
14. Aravindh, Chithambaram VR. (IND)
15. Giri, Anish (NED)
16. Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar (AZE)
17. So, Wesley (USA)
18. Anand, Viswanathan (IND)
19. Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime (FRA)
20. Niemann, Hans Moke (USA)
Continental Spots
Africa (3 players)
21. Amin, Bassem – Championship 24
22. Bellahcene, Bilel – Championship 25
23. Adly, Ahmed – Championship 25
Americas (21 player)
24. Garcia Pantoja, Roberto (COL) – Championship 24
25. Xiong, Jeffery (USA) – Championship 24
26. Henriquez Villagra, Cristobal (CHI) – Championship 24
27. Ghazarian, Kirk (USA) – Championship 24
28. Shankland, Sam (USA) – Championship 25
29. Martinez Alcantara, Jose Eduardo (MEX) – Championship 25
30. Fier, Alexandr (BRA) – Championship 25
31. Cardoso Cardoso, Jose Gabriel (COL) – Championship 25
32. Robson, Ray (USA) – Zone 2.1
33. Liang, Awonder (USA) – Zone 2.1
34. Dominguez Perez, Leinier (USA) – Zone 2.1
35. Sevian, Samuel (USA) – Zone 2.1
36. Aronian, Levon (USA) – Zone 2.1
37. Thavandiran, Shiyam (CAN) – Zone 2.2
38. Galaviz Medina, Sion (MEX) – Zone 2.3.1
39. Cordova Roa, Angel (COL) – Zone 2.3.2
40. Husbands, Orlando (BAR) – Zone 2.3.3
41. Rojas Salas, Steven (PER) – Zone 2.4
42. Mekhitarian, Krikor Sevag (BRA) – Zone 2.4
43. Vasquez, Facundo (URU) – Zone 2.5
44. Schnaider, Ilan (ARG) – Zone 2.5
Asia (35 players)
45. Nihal Sarin (IND) – Championship 25
46. Vokhidov, Shamsiddin (UZB) – Championship 25
47. Zemlyanskii, Ivan (FIDE) – Championship 25
48. Iniyan Pa (IND) – Championship 25
49. Raja Rithvik R (IND) – Championship 25
50. Narayanan S L (IND) – Championship 25
51. Pranesh M (IND) – Championship 25
52. Harshavardhan G B (IND) – Championship 25
53. Lobanov, Sergei (FIDE) – Championship 25
54. Karthikeyan, Murali (IND) – Championship 25
55. Idani, Pouya (IND) – Zone 3.1
56. Daneshvar, Bardiya (IRI) – Zone 3.1
57. Reja Neer Manon (BAN) – Zone 3.2
58. Tin, Jingyao (SGP) – Zone 3.3
59. Agibileg, Uurtsaikh (MGL) – Zone 3.3
60. Ansat, Aldiyar (KAZ) – Zone 3.4
61. Akhmedinov, Satbek (KAZ) – Zone 3.4
62. Suleymenov, Alisher (KAZ) – Zone 3.4
63. Suyarov, Mukhammadzokhid (UZB) – Zone 3.4
64. Bai Jinshi (CHN) – Zone 3.5
65. Peng Xiongjian (CHN) – Zone 3.5
66. Wang Shixu B (CHN) – Zone 3.5
67. Temur Kuybokarov (AUS) – Zone 3.6
68. Karthik Venmkataraman (IND) – Zone 3.7
69. Ganguly Surya (IND) – Zone 3.7
70. Neelash Saha (IND) – Zone 3.7
71. Ghosh Diptayan (IND) – Zone 3.7
72. Aromyak Ghosh (IND) – Zone 3.7
73. Gusain Imal (IND) – Zone 3.7
74. Lalit Babu MR (IND) – Zone 3.7
75. Artemiev, Vladislav (FIDE) – Zone 3.8
76. Esipenko, Andrey (FIDE) – Zone 3.8
77. Dubov, Daniil (FIDE) – Zone 3.8
78. Najer, Evgeniy (FIDE) – Zone 3.8
79. Nesterov, Arseniy (FIDE) – Zone 3.8
Europe (41 players)
80. Indjic, Aleksandar (SRB) – Championship 24
81. Dardha, Daniel (BEL) – Championship 24
82. Svane, Frederik (GER) – Championship 24
83. Deac, Bogdan-Daniel (ROU) – Championship 24
84. Cheparinov, Ivan (BUL) – Championship 24
85. Chigaev, Maksim (ESP) – Championship 24
86. Yuffa, Daniil (ESP) – Championship 24
87. Hovhannisyan, Robert (ARM) – Championship 24
88. Motylev, Alexander (ROU) – Championship 24
89. Piorun, Kacper (POL) – Championship 24
90. Bartel, Mateusz (POL) – Championship 24
91. Lupulescu, Constantin (ROU) – Championship 24
92. Ivic, Velimir (SRB) – Championship 24
93. Mamedov, Rauf (AZE) – Championship 24
94. Fedoseev, Vladimir (SLO) – Championship 24
95. Donchenko, Alexander (GER) – Championship 24
96. Can, Emre (TUR) – Championship 24
97. Vitiugov, Nikita (ENG) – Championship 24
98. Svane, Rasmus (GER) – Championship 24
99. Kovalev, Vladislav (FIDE) – Championship 24
100. Bluebaum, Matthias (GER) – Championship 25
101. Rodshtein, Maxim (ISR) – Championship 25
102. Gledura, Benjamin (HUN) – Championship 25
103. Tari, Aryan (NOR) – Championship 25
104. Sargissian, Gabriel (ARM) – Championship 25
105. Erdogmus, Yagiz Kaan (TUR) – Championship 25
106. Gurel, Ediz (TUR) – Championship 25
107. Kantor, Gergely (HUN) – Championship 25
108. Samadov, Read (AZE) – Championship 25
109. Jobava, Baadur (GEO) – Championship 25
110. Van Foreest, Jorden (NED) – Championship 25
111. Kourkoulos-Arditis, Stamatis (GRE) – Championship 25
112. Navara, David (CZE) – Championship 25
113. Sargsyan, Shant (ARM) – Championship 25
114. Lagarde, Maxime (FRA) – Championship 25
115. Velten, Paul (FRA) – Championship 25
116. Martirosyan, Haik M. (ARM) – Championship 25
117. Saric, Ivan (CRO) – Championship 25
118. Ahmadzada, Ahmad (AZE) – Championship 25
119. Huschenbeth, Niclas (GER) – Championship 25
120. Efimov, Igor (MNC) – Zone 1.10
Olympiad Spots (100 players)
121. Afghanistan
122. Algeria
123. Angola
124. Flores, Diego (ARG) – Argentina
125. Grigoryan, Karen H (ARM) – Armenia
126. Australia
127. Blohberger, Felix (AUT) -Austria
128. Azerbaijan
129. Mohammad Fahad, Rahman (BAN) – Bangladesh
130. Maksimović, Bojan (BIH) – Bosnia & Herzegovina
131. Supi, Luís Paulo (BRA) – Brazil
132. Petrov, Martin (BUL) – Bulgaria
133. Canada
134. Salinas Herrera, Pablo (CHI) – Chile
135. China
136. Chinese Taipei
137. Avila Pavas, Santiago (COL) – Colombia
138. Brkic, Ante (CRO) – Croatia
139. Isidro Berdayes Ason, Dylan (CUB) – Cuba
140. Nguyen, Thai Dai Van (CZE) – Czech Republic
141. Fawzy, Adham (EGY) – Egypt
142. Adams, Michael (ENG) – England
143. Bacrot, Etienne (FRA) – France
144. Georgia
145. Keymer, Vincent (GER) – Germany
146. Theodorou, Nikolas (GRE) – Greece
147. Hong Kong, China
148. Rapport, Richard (HUN) – Hungary
149. Gujrathi, Vidit (IND) – India
150. Indonesia
151. Maghsoodloo, Parham (IRI) – Iran
152. Salih, Akar Ali Salih (IRQ) – Iraq
153. Lodici, Lorenzo (ITA) – Italy
154. Tu, Tran Thanh (JPN) – Japan
155. Makhnev, Denis (KAZ) – Kazakhstan
156. Kyrgyzstan
157. Neiksans, Arturs (LAT) – Latvia
158. Libya
159. Stremavičius, Titas (LTU) – Lithuania
160. Rakotomaharo, Fy Antenaina (MAD) – Madagascar
161. Malaysia
162. Cori Quispe, Kevin Joel (MEX) – Mexico
163. Lashkin, Yegor (MDA) – Moldova
164. Amartuvshin, Ganzorig (MNG) – Mongolia
165. Petrov, Nikita (MNE) – Montenegro
166. Morocco
167. Namibia
168. Warmerdam, Max (NED) – the Netherlands
169. Xie, Felix (NZL) – New Zealand
170. Kigigha, Bomo Lovet (NGR) – Nigeria
171. Christiansen, Johan-Sebastian (NOR) – Norway
172. Pakistan
173. Allam, Mohamed (PLE) – Palestine
174. Cori, Jorge (PER) – Peru
175. Philippines
176. Wojtaszek, Radoslaw (POL) – Poland
177. Parligras, Mircea-Emilian (ROU) – România
178. Saudi Arabia
179. Serbia
180. Siddharth, Jagadeesh (SGP) – Singapore
181. Subelj, Jan (SLO) – Slovenia
182. Barrish, Daniel (RSA) – South Africa
183. South Korea
184. Spain
185. Sri Lanka
186. Sweden
187. Bogner, Sebastian (SUI) – Switzerland
188. Ilkhomi, Jaloliddin (TJK) – Tajikistan
189. Thailand
190. Tunisia
191. Yilmaz, Mustafa (TUR) – Turkiye
192. Atabayev, Saparmyrat (TKM) – Turkmenistan
193. Ivanchuk, Vasyl (UKR) – Ukraine
194. Salem, A.R. Saleh (UAE) – United Arab Emirates
195. Oparin, Grigoriy (USA) – United States of America
196. Uruguay
197. Sindarov, Javokhir (UZB) – Uzbekistan
198. Vietnam
199. Mwali, Chitumbo (ZAM) – Zambia
200. Mandizha, Farai (ZIM) – Zimbabwe
Nominees of the FIDE President (4 players)
201.
202.
203.
204.
Nominees of the Organiser (2 players)
205.
206.
The list of qualified players: https://worldcup2025.fide.com/participants/
