India is set to host the FIDE Chess World Cup 2025, the All India Chess Federation has reportedly confirmed, though the dates for the tournament are still being finalised.
“India will host the FIDE World Cup 2025, and we will soon announce it officially with the final dates,” Sportstar quotes a senior AICF official having said.
The FIDE World Cup, a prestigious knockout tournament featuring over 200 players, also serves as a pathway to the Candidates Tournament, with three qualification spots up for grabs.
It bears noting that FIDE director-general Emil Sutovsky, while speaking to select Indian media on the sidelines of the Chess World Championship in Singapore in November, had indicated as much. “It’s incredibly important for us. We are in constant talks with AICF, and there’s a connection with Tamil Nadu as well. You know that (FIDE president Arkady) Dvorkovich met (Chief Minister) M.K. Stalin — the two met before the Olympiad in Mahabalipuram in 2022. I believe that maybe already in 2025, we will have a very major event in India. I’m not saying in Tamil Nadu, but in India. Going forward, with such a huge interest, it’s only logical that India would host more and more top events,” Sutovsky had then said.
While Chennai may be a logical destination to host the 2025 World Cup, the AICF is reportedly cognisant of the need to take the board game to other parts of the country.
