Chess World Cup

Last Updated: 8 april 2025

About the Chess World Cup

The FIDE World Cup is a major chess tournament based on the Olympic system, which brings together the best chess players in the world. This chess event is run by the International Chess Federation and is an integral part of the qualification for the Chess World Cup.

Official FIDE website

2025 Chess World Cup

It has been officially confirmed that the 2025 World Cup will be held from October 31 to November 27 in India. This period promises intense games, unexpected moves and real chess dramas. India as the host is not a random choice: the country is actively developing chess and giving the world more and more talented players.

Participants of the 2025 World Chess Cup

More than 200 of the world’s strongest chess players are expected to participate in the tournament. Among the invited:

Highly rated grandmasters

Winners and prize winners of continental championships
Young talents and rising stars
Representatives of the host country – India
There will also be a Women’s World Cup, which will bring together the top female chess players of the planet

This format makes the tournament as diverse and unpredictable as possible – both stars and beginners have a chance to prove themselves.

Who are the favorites?

The exact list of participants will be known closer to the start of the tournament, but already now we can identify potential favorites:

Magnus Carlsen, if he confirms his participation
Hikaru Nakamura, who consistently performs at the top level
Ian Nepomniachtchi, always dangerous in match formats
Alisher Abdusattarov is a bright representative of the new wave
Fabiano Caruana, experienced and cool in decisive games

In addition, there is always room for unexpected discoveries – the World Cup often surprises with loud sensations already in the first round.

History of the Chess World Cup

It is worth noting that throughout the history of chess tournaments this sporting event has experienced different periods. For many years in a row, World Cup chess tournaments were held in different cities of Russia.

The first chess tournament under the familiar name was held in 2000. At that time, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) organized the tournament. By 2002, two champions were known to the world – Vladimir Kramnik (according to PCA) and Ruslan Ponomariov (according to FIDE). The conflict between the two chess federations was resolved only in 2006, when a unification championship between Topalov and Kramnik was held.

The history of the Chess World Cup as we know it now began in 2005. Since then, the best chess players of the world started to play according to an elimination system. The winner of the first tournament was Levon Aronian. Since 2005, the Chess World Cup has been held regularly every 2 years.

The 2007 tournament was held in Khanty-Mansiysk with the same format. At that time, the prize money was divided among all the participants of the Cup.

From 2005 till 2021, 128 players took part in the tournament. The number of athletes increased to 206 from 2021.