New Delhi has reportedly won the hosting rights for the Fide Chess World Cup, which will be held in later this year.
The global chess governing body and the All India Chess Federation are soon expected to announce the host city of the tournament, which had been allotted to India.
Per Hindustan Times, the October 31-November 27 event will mark the return of big-ticket chess to India, since the country hosted the Olympiad in 2022. India previously hosted a Fide World Cup over two decades ago. Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand won that edition held in Hyderabad in 2002.
In a related development, an AICF official told Indian Express that India will make a bid to host the 2026 World Championship, where Gukesh will defend his world championship crown against a yet-to-be-determined challenger.
“We had proposed to the government that the World Cup be hosted at Delhi and we have received an NOC. So it will most probably be hosted by Delhi. Bharat Mandapam and Yashobhoomi are the prime candidates to host the event,” an AICF official told Indian Express. “The tender for the World Chess Championship for 2026 is not yet opened. But we will make a strong bid for that and try to get that event to India as well.”
One of Fide’s flagship competitions, the Chess World Cup is a knockout tournament held once every two years and will have 206 players. Per HT, New Delhi was picked as host since it offers travel accessibility to players from across the world. “Direct flights from most global locations was one of the factors why Delhi made for a perfect choice. Also, logistics might be easier to manage, and since it’s the national capital, it might help with the buzz around the event,” a source told the daily.
Spread over 123 acres in the heart of the capital, Bharat Mandapam is one of the country’s largest convention centres. The venue played host to the G20 Leaders’ Summit in 2023 and could be seen as the preferred venue for the Chess World Cup. Previously, Delhi had hosted the first six rounds of the Fide World Championship match in 2000. The final rounds were played in Tehran, and Anand became world champion for the first time.
India hosted the World Championship match between Anand and Magnus Carlsen in Chennai in 2013. Last year, India had sent in two separate bids (New Delhi and Chennai) to host the World Championship match between Gukesh D and Ding Liren. Singapore eventually won the bid and the match saw India’s Gukesh being crowned world champion at 18.
With a prize fund of around $2 million, the World Cup that New Delhi is set to host is particularly significant for the World Championship cycle.
