Delhi to host 2025 Chess World Cup: Reports

The Indian capital city New Delhi will host the 2025 FIDE Chess World Cup later this year, marking the return of the prestigious event to the country for the first time in over two decades.

India last hosted the FIDE Chess World Cup in Hyderabad back in 2002 with Viswanathan Anand emerging as the champion.

The country last hosted a big-ticket chess competition when it conducted the 2022 Chess Olympiad with Chennai stepping in as a host at last-minute.

The Chess World Cup, which is held biannually, is one of the most high profile tournaments in the sport. It is a knockout tournament with more than 200 players expected to be in contention.

As per a report in Hindustan Times, New Delhi has been elected as the host since it provides 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," an official was quoted as saying.

The previous edition of the Chess World Cup in 2023 saw India's Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu go on a stellar run of form. The teenager finished runner-up to Magnus Carlsen, earning a spot at the 2024 Candidates.

The news of India hosting the 2025 Chess World Cup first broke in January earlier this year, when the FIDE website mentioned the country as host for the event in its calendar section.

The post was, however, soon taken down. At the time of publishing this article, it remains the same.

The 2025 Chess World Cup is slated to be held from 31 October to 27 November, 2025.