FIDE World Cup: Gukesh returns to Goa after six years as a world champion

The last time D. Gukesh played a tournament in Goa was in 2019, as a 13-year-old who finished 10th in the Category A Goa International Open Grandmasters Chess tournament. He returns as a world champion to the FIDE World Cup 2025, the prestigious event beginning 31 October as it returns to India after 23 years.

“I am really excited about the World Cup. Playing anywhere in India is great and I have some great memories of Goa. I have played some junior events there. So, looking forward to being there,” said Gukesh, who will also be the top seed in the competition.

The FIDE World Cup, one of the most prominent tournaments in the global chess calendar, will be played in a North Goa resort from 30 October to 27 November. A total of 206 players from 82 countries will be vying for the honours — and the $20,00,000 total prize money (across top places) — at this knockout-format event, with the top three finishers qualifying for the Candidates event in 2026.

Returning to Goa as a chess celebrity now, Gukesh is keen to make it yet another memorable trip to the costal state. The top seed has received a bye in the opening round and is likely to face Kazybez Nogerbek of Kazakhstan in the second round.

Another top player who is looking forward to pocketing the winner’s purse of $120,000 is Dutch grandmaster Anish Giri, who has already qualified for the Candidates through the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss tournament.

Having already sealed his spot for the Candidates 2026, which will decide the challenger to Gukesh in the next World Championships cycle, Giri will be under less pressure going into the showpiece.

“The World Cup, it’s a great event and I am going to play it regardless. It’s fun to play it,” said Giri, the highest-ranked foreign player in the competition.

Speaking about the pressure that most top players will feel as they aim to qualify for the Candidates 2026 through the FIDE World Cup 2025 route, Giri said: “It’s a very tricky qualification path, whichever is the format. I have played a lot of them (World Cup). Once I got very close to qualify through World Cup but I lost the semi-final to Peter Svidler (in 2015).”

The FIDE World Cup has been following the knockout format since 2005, and only Viswanathan Anand of India and Armenia’s Levon Aronian have thus far managed to win the title twice in the history of the tournament.