India will host the prestigious FIDE Chess World Cup later this year, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) announced on Monday. The worldwide event will run from October 30 to November 27, 2025.
Although the specific venue of the event in India is yet to be made public, FIDE explained that the name of the host city will be announced soon.
The elite FIDE World Cup is heading to India this year! Taking place from October 30 to November 27, 2025, the tournament will see the world's top players fight for the highly prized title and spots at the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament. Additional information, including the disclosure of the hosting city, will follow in due course," the organization stated in its official announcement.
One of the most important events in the chess calendar, the World Cup will determine three qualifiers for the 2026 Candidates Tournament, which will decide the challenger for the next World Chess Championship.
The tournament will see participation from 206 players, who will compete in a knockout format. This structure, introduced in 2021, involves single-elimination rounds, where players must win to advance, making the tournament unpredictable and exciting.
Every round of the competition is taken over three days — two days of classical chess and a third day of tie-breaks, if required. In the first round, the top 50 seeded players get automatic byes, while players ranked between 51 and 206 will be drawn by a top-half vs. reversed bottom-half format.
FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky welcomed the event to Indian soil. "We are delighted to host the FIDE World Cup 2025 in India, where there is an abiding love and affection for chess. Indian chess enthusiasts' passion has always been exceptional, and we look forward to keen interest in the tournament from local chess enthusiasts both offline and online. To provide a richer experience, FIDE is dedicated to staging several side events with participants in the tournament and chess grandmasters," he said.
India has been increasingly hosting large-scale international chess competitions over the past few years. Prominent events hosted include the 2022 FIDE Chess Olympiad, the Tata Steel Chess India tournaments, the 2024 FIDE World Junior U20 Championships, and most recently, the fifth event of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix in April 2025.
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