New Delhi, July 21: In a landmark announcement for Indian sports, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) confirmed that India will host the prestigious Chess World Cup 2025, scheduled to take place from October 30 to November 27. The host city for the tournament will be announced in the coming weeks.
This major global chess event will feature 206 top players from across the world competing in a knockout format. The top three finishers will earn direct qualification to the 2026 Candidates Tournament — a crucial step toward challenging for the World Chess Championship title.
“The prestigious 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,” FIDE said in its official statement.
India’s recent track record in organizing world-class chess events played a key role in securing the World Cup hosting rights. Major tournaments held in the country include 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 in April 2025.
The tournament will follow the single-elimination format introduced in 2021. Each round spans three days — two classical games followed by tie-breaks if necessary. In the first round, the top 50 players receive byes, while the remaining 156 are paired in a top-half vs reversed-lower-half structure.
FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky expressed his excitement about bringing the event to India. “We are thrilled to bring the FIDE World Cup 2025 to India, a country with a deep-rooted passion and support for chess. Indian fans’ enthusiasm has always been remarkable, and we anticipate great interest in the event both on-site and online,” he said, adding that several side events featuring top players and chess legends will also be organized.
