Open: Carlsen, Gukesh, Erigaisi, MVL and Artemiev lead
The FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships got under way in Doha on Friday. The open tournament features a large and competitive field, and the first five rounds of the thirteen-round Swiss were completed on day one. The remaining schedule is compact, with four rounds to be played on Saturday and four more on Sunday, when the 2025 world rapid champion will be decided.
The depth of the field was evident from the start. With 56 players rated 2600 or above, even the top seeds were paired against strong opposition in the first rounds. Despite this, a group of five well-established elite players managed to set the early pace and now share the lead on 4½ points out of 5. The leaders are world number one Magnus Carlsen, classical world champion Gukesh Dommaraju, 2021 world blitz champion Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, current world number five Arjun Erigaisi and 2019 European champion Vladislav Artemiev.
Four of these five players began the event among the top ten seeds, with Gukesh being the notable exception. The Indian prodigy is seeded only 16th, largely because he has traditionally focused far more on classical chess than on rapid formats.
Gukesh Dommaraju defeated Alan Pichot in round four | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes
Vladislav Artemiev having a good time with defending champion Volodar Murzin | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes
Just half a point behind the leaders, on 4/5, stands a sizeable chasing group of fifteen players. This group includes several familiar names from the elite circuit, such as Anish Giri, Javokhir Sindarov and Hans Niemann. Alongside them are a couple of particularly eye-catching surprises: IM Goutham Krishna of India, seeded 187th, and IM Erdiyar Orozbaev of Kyrgyzstan, seeded 180th, both find themselves among the early frontrunners. At this stage of such a long Swiss tournament, however, it is still too early to draw firm conclusions, as top players often climb steadily up the standings as the rounds progress.
Further down the table, a number of strong grandmasters will need to recover ground if they are to re-enter the race for the top places. Radoslaw Wojtaszek, Nils Grandelius and defending champion Volodar Murzin all had a particularly slow opening day, scoring only 2/5. Meanwhile, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Vincent Keymer and Teimour Radjabov finished slightly higher on 2½/5, but will also be looking for a stronger second day.
Saturday’s action is set to begin with several high-profile pairings on the top boards. Among the most notable matchups in the first round of the day are Vachier-Lagrave versus Carlsen, Erigaisi against Artemiev and Giri facing Gukesh.
Goutham Krishna upset Aleksandar Indjic, Aravindh Chithambaram and Teimour Radjabov, and held draws against Alexander Grischuk and Anish Giri! | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes
Carlsen checkmates Paravyan
Always the favourite – Magnus Carlsen | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes
Bjerre catches Abdusattorov in the opening
After beating Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Jonas Buhl Bjerre faced yet another elite GM, Anish Giri – the Danish youngster lost this game | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes
Standings after round 5
| 1 | 1 | GM | Carlsen, Magnus | NOR | 2824 | 4,5 | 15 | 18 | 2627 | 0 | 0 | 2967 | |
| 2 | 9 | GM | Erigaisi, Arjun | IND | 2714 | 4,5 | 14,5 | 17,5 | 2622 | 0 | 0 | 2961 | |
| 3 | 6 | GM | Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | FRA | 2730 | 4,5 | 13,5 | 14,5 | 2599 | 0 | 0 | 2944 | |
| 4 | 7 | GM | Artemiev, Vladislav | FID | 2727 | 4,5 | 13 | 14,5 | 2590 | 0 | 0 | 2936 | |
| 5 | 16 | GM | Gukesh, D | IND | 2692 | 4,5 | 12 | 14 | 2522 | 0 | 0 | 2864 | |
| 6 | 45 | GM | Anton Guijarro, David | ESP | 2619 | 4 | 14,5 | 16,5 | 2585 | 0 | 0 | 2793 | |
| 7 | 51 | GM | Sargsyan, Shant | ARM | 2611 | 4 | 14 | 15,5 | 2588 | 0 | 0 | 2781 | |
| 8 | 187 | IM | Goutham, Krishna H | IND | 2392 | 4 | 13,5 | 16 | 2653 | 0 | 0 | 2880 | |
| 9 | 180 | IM | Orozbaev, Eldiyar | KGZ | 2405 | 4 | 13,5 | 15 | 2623 | 0 | 0 | 2853 | |
| 10 | 113 | GM | Hovhannisyan, Robert | ARM | 2517 | 4 | 13,5 | 14,5 | 2655 | 0 | 0 | 2780 | |
| 11 | 18 | GM | Giri, Anish | NED | 2685 | 4 | 13 | 15,5 | 2525 | 0 | 0 | 2738 | |
| 12 | 86 | GM | Chanda, Sandipan | IND | 2553 | 4 | 13 | 15 | 2641 | 0 | 0 | 2818 | |
| 13 | 12 | GM | Sindarov, Javokhir | UZB | 2704 | 4 | 13 | 15 | 2563 | 0 | 0 | 2788 | |
| 14 | 29 | GM | Robson, Ray | USA | 2652 | 4 | 13 | 15 | 2546 | 0 | 0 | 2768 | |
| 15 | 19 | GM | Yu, Yangyi | CHN | 2680 | 4 | 12,5 | 15 | 2493 | 0 | 0 | 2715 | |
| 16 | 24 | GM | Nihal, Sarin | IND | 2664 | 4 | 12,5 | 14,5 | 2518 | 0 | 0 | 2735 | |
| 17 | 36 | GM | Sarana, Alexey | SRB | 2641 | 4 | 12 | 15 | 2516 | 0 | 0 | 2741 | |
| 18 | 106 | GM | Makarian, Rudik | FID | 2524 | 4 | 12 | 13 | 2643 | 0 | 0 | 2784 | |
| 19 | 48 | GM | Niemann, Hans Moke | USA | 2612 | 4 | 11,5 | 13,5 | 2470 | 0 | 0 | 2687 | |
| 20 | 56 | GM | Matlakov, Maxim | FID | 2602 | 4 | 11,5 | 13,5 | 2430 | 0 | 0 | 2662 | |
| 21 | 179 | GM | Movahed, Sina | IRI | 2405 | 3,5 | 16,5 | 19 | 2660 | 0 | 0 | 2796 | |
| 22 | 52 | GM | Mamedov, Rauf | AZE | 2610 | 3,5 | 14,5 | 17,5 | 2526 | 0 | 0 | 2640 | |
| 23 | 20 | GM | Grischuk, Alexander | FID | 2677 | 3,5 | 14,5 | 16,5 | 2560 | 0 | 0 | 2675 | |
| 24 | 54 | GM | Iturrizaga Bonelli, Eduardo | ESP | 2605 | 3,5 | 14 | 15 | 2531 | 0 | 0 | 2656 | |
| 25 | 99 | GM | Zemlyanskii, Ivan | FID | 2539 | 3,5 | 13,5 | 15,5 | 2672 | 0 | 0 | 2731 |
All available games – Open
Women’s: Zhu scores 4 out of 4
While no player managed to maintain a perfect score in the open section, the women’s tournament did produce a sole leader after the opening day. Zhu Jiner, the 23-year-old Chinese star, won all four of her games on Friday to take the outright lead. Zhu has already climbed to second place in the women’s classical world ranking, and her start in Doha demonstrated her growing strength across formats.
The women’s event is played over eleven rounds, rather than thirteen. Four further rounds are scheduled for Saturday, with the final three rounds to be played on Sunday. Despite being the only player on a perfect score, Zhu entered the event as just the tenth seed.
A group of seven players trails Zhu by half a point on 3½/4. All are well-known figures, ranked 29th or above, and unlike in the open section, there have been no major surprises among the early frontrunners. This chasing group includes two former women’s world champions in classical chess, Mariya Muzychuk and Antoaneta Stefanova, as well as former world championship challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina.
Mariya Muzychuk | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes
Another strong cluster of contenders sits a further half point back on 3/5. This group includes defending champion Humpy Koneru and several former world rapid champions: Ju Wenjun, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Anna Muzychuk and Tan Zhongyi. With many of the top names still closely packed, the standings remain highly fluid.
Round five on Saturday is set to provide several eye-catching encounters at the top of the women’s tournament. Zhu will have the white pieces against Goryachkina on the top board, while Stefanova faces Harika Dronavalli and Mariya Muzychuk plays Sara Khadem on the next two boards.
Sara Khadem | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes
Zhu’s king infiltrates opposite camp
The only player with a perfect score in Doha – Zhu Jiner | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes
Vaishali blunders mate-in-one
Tan Zhongyi v. Vaishali Rameshbabu ended abruptly | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes
Standings after round 5
| 1 | GM | Zhu, Jiner | 2435 | 4 | 8,5 | |
| 2 | GM | Batsiashvili, Nino | 2346 | 3,5 | 9 | |
| 3 | GM | Goryachkina, Aleksandra | 2505 | 3,5 | 9 | |
| 4 | GM | Muzychuk, Mariya | 2421 | 3,5 | 8 | |
| 5 | GM | Dronavalli, Harika | 2435 | 3,5 | 8 | |
| 6 | GM | Stefanova, Antoaneta | 2379 | 3,5 | 7,5 | |
| 7 | IM | Song, Yuxin | 2375 | 3,5 | 7 | |
| 8 | IM | Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat | 2356 | 3,5 | 6,5 | |
| 9 | WGM | Zhapova, Yana | 2227 | 3 | 9,5 | |
| 10 | GM | Khotenashvili, Bella | 2373 | 3 | 9 | |
| 11 | GM | Vaishali, Rameshbabu | 2359 | 3 | 8,5 | |
| 12 | GM | Lei, Tingjie | 2496 | 3 | 8,5 | |
| 13 | GM | Dzagnidze, Nana | 2425 | 3 | 8 | |
| 14 | GM | Kosteniuk, Alexandra | 2450 | 3 | 8 | |
| 15 | IM | Padmini, Rout | 2290 | 3 | 8 | |
| 16 | GM | Muzychuk, Anna | 2398 | 3 | 8 | |
| 17 | GM | Divya, Deshmukh | 2419 | 3 | 8 | |
| 18 | WGM | Nurman, Alua | 2289 | 3 | 7,5 | |
| 19 | WIM | Mungunzul, Bat-Erdene | 2288 | 3 | 7,5 | |
| 20 | IM | Savitha, Shri B | 2238 | 3 | 7,5 | |
| 21 | GM | Tan, Zhongyi | 2507 | 3 | 7 | |
| 22 | WGM | Khamdamova, Afruza | 2365 | 3 | 7 | |
| 23 | IM | Shuvalova, Polina | 2360 | 3 | 7 | |
| 24 | IM | Injac, Teodora | 2360 | 3 | 7 | |
| 25 | WGM | Mamedjarova, Zeinab | 2188 | 3 | 7 |
All available games – Women’s
About the event
The FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships 2025 will take place in Doha, Qatar from 25 to 30 December, bringing together the world’s elite chess talent for a thrilling end-of-year showdown. Held at the Sports and Events Complex, Qatar University, this edition features both Open and Women’s events in Rapid and Blitz formats, with a total prize fund of €1,000,000. Doha returns as host after nine years, underscoring Qatar’s growing stature in the chess world.
The full list of registered players can be found here:
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