FIDE Chess World Cup 2025: Full Schedule, Indian Contenders, Prize Money, Live Streaming And All You Need To Know

Last Updated:October 28, 2025, 13:22 IST

FIDE Chess World Cup 2025 will be held in Goa with 206 players, including Gukesh D and Divya Deshmukh. Prize fund is 2 million dollars. Here's everything you need to know about it.

D Gukesh, Divya Deshmukh will lead India's charge at the 2025 World Cup.

FIDE Chess World Cup 2025, everything you need to know from venues, streaming websites, and prize money: India has a deep connection with chess, which spans centuries, from its origins as chaturanga in the sixth century to now being termed as the ‘global modern powerhouse’ by the FIDE President.

It’s World Cup is now coming to India in the beautiful Western Ghats state of Goa. World’s best players and emerging talent will converge near the coast to find the ultimate champions of the sport.

We have got you covered with all the important details:

What is the FIDE Chess World Cup 2025?

It is one of the major tournaments organized by the International Federation of the sport. It began in 2000 and has been hosted every two years since 2005 in different formats (like multi-stage rounds or single-elimination), but since 2021, it has adopted a new approach.

206 players will compete in a head-to-head knockout format over eight rounds. Each round will last three days: two classical games on the first two days, and tie-breaks on the third if needed.

The top 50 seeds get byes into round two, while players ranked 51 to 206 face off based on standard pairings.

Where will the FIDE Chess World Cup 2025 be held?

The tournament will be hosted in the Resort Rio, said to be Goa’s largest convention hall and a five-star luxury venue.

What is at stake?

The top three finishers in the World Cup will qualify directly for the 2026 Candidates Tournament, which decides who will challenge for the World Chess Championship, the biggest event.

Full Schedule Of FIDE Chess World Cup 2025

(All games start at 3:00 PM IST)

Round 1:

Game 1 – November 1

Game 2 – November 2

Tiebreaks – November 3

Round 2:

Game 1 – November 4

Game 2 – November 5

Tiebreaks – November 6

Round 3:

Game 1 – November 7

Game 2 – November 8

Tiebreaks – November 9

Round 4:

Game 1 – November 11

Game 2 – November 12

Tiebreaks – November 13

Round 5:

Game 1 – November 14

Game 2 – November 15

Tiebreaks – November 16

Quarterfinals:

Game 1 – November 17

Game 2 – November 18

Tiebreaks – November 19

Semifinals:

Game 1 – November 21

Game 2 – November 22

Tiebreaks – November 23

Finals:

Game 1 – November 24

Game 2 – November 25

Tiebreaks – November 26

India Participants In the FIDE Chess World Cup 2025

D Gukesh, the World Champion, is the top seed of the tournament. He’ll lead a hefty Indian contingent with 23 other players. Meanwhile, FIDE Women’s World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh is the only female in the competition, thanks to her Wild-Card entry. She’s seeded 150th.

Have any Indians won the FIDE Chess World Cup?

It had a different name at the time, but Viswanathan Anand won the first two editions of the Chess World Cup. The 2002 one was the last time it was held in India (Hyderabad).

No Indian has won it since. R Praggnanandhaa was the runner-up in 2023.

Prize Money Of FIDE Chess World Cup 2025

The total prize fund for the event is $2 million (₹17.65 crore). The winner will receive $120,000 (₹1.06 crore), while the runner-up earns $85,000 (₹75.02 lakh). The third and fourth-placed players will take home $60,000 (₹52.96 lakh) and $50,000 (₹44.13 lakh), respectively.

How To Watch the FIDE Chess World Cup 2025?

There has been no information about any tickets going live for the event from FIDE or the venue. It’s not rare for these events to be closed to the general public, and that seems to be the case for this one, too.

Fans can watch it on FIDE’s YouTube channel and Chess.com.

Sports Desk

A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you live updates, breaking news, opinions and photos from the wide world of sport. Follow @News18Sports

A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you live updates, breaking news, opinions and photos from the wide world of sport. Follow @News18Sports

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