Hey iQOO Fans,

Finally it is official now. The FIDE World Cup for chess will be held in India between October 30-November 27, 2025, announced the International Chess Federation or FIDE as it is popularly known.

'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 in the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament,' FIDE announced on Monday.

'Further details, including the announcement of the host city, will be released in due course,' FIDE said.

According to FIDE, the event will feature 206 players. The tournament will be in the knockout format -- that is the losing player in each round will be eliminated.

The event has used several formats over the years, but since 2021, it has followed a single-elimination format.

Each round spans three days: two classical games on the first two days, followed by tie-breaks on the third day, if necessary.

In the first round, the top 50 players receive byes, while players seeded from 51 to 206 compete, with pairings based on the principle of the top half versus the reversed lower half.

The top three finishers of the 2025 World Cup will earn direct qualification for the 2026 Candidates Tournament, which determines the challenger for the World Chess Championship.

Earlier, unconfirmed reports had said the event will be held in Delhi and later Goa also figured as the venue.

Senior Delhi Chess Association and Goa Chess Association officials had told this correspondent that they are unaware of any move to hold the World Cup in Delhi or Goa.

In 2002, the World Cup was held in Hyderabad and won by Viswanathan Anand.

India has become a dominant force in the chess world, thanks in part to five-time World Champion and FIDE Deputy President Viswanathan Anand, whose efforts and legacy have been instrumental in populariSing chess in the country, the International Chess Federation said.

India's young stars include D Gukesh, who became the youngest FIDE World Chess Champion at 18, R Praggnanandhaa, the runner-up of the 2023 World Cup, and Arjun Erigaisi, currently ranked world number five.

In 2024, both the Indian Open and Women's teams claimed their first-ever gold medals at the Chess Olympiad -- a historic achievement further highlighted by four individual gold medals won by Gukesh, Erigaisi, Deshmukh, and Agrawal.

Source:rediff

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Sumit

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