In honor of the five-time world champion Indian icon, the FIDE World Chess Cup’s new trophy was named the Viswanathan Anand trophy on Friday.
Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, and FIDE chief Arkady Dvorkovich were present at the vibrant opening event in Panjim where the gold-plated, brass trophy was displayed.
Future FIDE World Cup winners will receive the rolling trophy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally opened the tournament with a letter read by Nitin Narang, head of the All India Chess Federation, following a vibrant ceremony that highlighted Goa’s rich culture and the “Spirit and Story of Chess.”
“…As the Chess World Cup returns to the ‘home of chess’, it feels as though the game has come full circle. India’s growing role as a host to major international sporting events continues and augurs well for both India and the world. I declare the FIDE Chess World Cup 2025 open,” the PM said in his message.
206 players from 82 countries will compete for the coveted championship and three seats for Candidates 2026, the entry point to the next World Championship match, in the US$2 million prize money competition, which gets underway on Saturday.
Divya Deshmukh, the winner of the World Women’s Chess Cup, conducted the Round 1 players’ draw of colors ceremony.
All odd number players will start their matches on Saturday with black pieces because she chose black for the top player, D Gukesh of India.
“The last time India hosted the FIDE World Cup we had less than 10 Grandmasters. Now we have 90 and India holds the Olympiad titles in both open and women category and the Women’s World Cup title won by Divya Deshmukh,” Mandaviya said while addressing the gathering.
“India has come a long way in these 23 years and I am confident that hosting this world cup will only help us produce more champions in the future.”
The Viswanathan Anand Cup, the FIDE World Cup (Open) Winner’s Running Trophy, was established in honor of the “King of Chess and India’s first Grandmaster, Shri Viswanathan Anand,” according to AICF chief Narang.
Each match in the eight-round, single-elimination knockout World Cup will feature two traditional games played under regular time constraints.
The players return on the third day for a set of quick tie-breaks to determine who advances if the score is tied after those.
While the remaining 156 contestants start their campaigns on November 1, the top 50 seeds, which include many of the top Grandmasters in the world, are byes into the second round.
D Gukesh of India, the current world champion, has been seeded directly into round two. The top 50 players were given a bye in the first round, per the tournament format.
In the first round, GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus of Turkey, who is ranked highest, will face CM Nagi Abugenda of Libya, who is ranked lowest in the competition.
Pranav V, the current world junior champion, will be the most highly regarded Indian player competing in Round 1. He will play Algerian Ala Eddine Boulrens.
Only on November 4 will top seed and world champion D Gukesh, second seed Arjun Erigaisi, and last edition runner-up R Praggnanandhaa compete.
The FIDE World Cup is being held in India for the first time since 2002. That time, Anand had won the two-game final in Hyderabad over Rustam Kasimdzhanov.
Over 20 years later, India has a young world champion in Gukesh, Olympiad team crowns in both the Open and women’s divisions, and Divya Deshmukh, the current Women’s World Cup champion and the only female competitor in this year’s World Cup.
