FIDE World Cup 2025 Prize Money details: Winner to pocket more than Women’s champion Divya Deshmukh

FIDE World Cup 2025: Prize money details. (Photo: X)

Goa is set to host the 2025 FIDE World Cup. India is hosting the biannual event for the first time in 25 years, and a record 24 players will be from the host nation. D Gukesh, the current world champion, R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin, and Divya Deshmukh, the winner of the Women's World Cup, will be among the stars representing the home country.

The main competition will begin on November 1 and will go on till November 26. Round 1 will take place from November 1-3 (including tie-breakers), followed by Round 2 from November 4–6 (including tie-breakers). Round 3 will take place from November 7–9 (including tie-breakers), while Round 4 will take place from November 11–13 (including tie-breakers).

The event will proceed to the knockout stages following Round 5, which takes place from November 14–16 (including tie-breakers). The quarterfinals from November 17–19 (including tie-breakers) and semifinals from November 21–23 (including tie-breakers) comprise the latter stage. The final (with tie-breakers) is scheduled for November 24–26.

The competition has a $2 million prize money. $120,000 will be awarded to the winner. $85,000 will go to the runners-up. The third-place finisher receives $60,000, and the fourth-place finisher will receive $50,000. Deshmukh, the champion of the Women's Chess World Cup earlier this year, only received $50,000 in prize money.

206 participants will compete in eight rounds of the World Cup in a head-to-head, two-game knockout style. Each round will take place over three days, with two classical games (between two players) on the first two days and, if needed, tie-breaks on the third day.

Players seeded 51 through 206 compete in the first round, with pairings determined by the top half versus the reversed bottom half. The top 50 players are given byes. The top three finishers in the FIDE World Cup are directly qualified for the 2026 Candidates Tournament, which chooses the World Chess Championship challenger.