The 27th edition of the International Chess Federation or Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship 2025 held at Sports and Events Complex, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar from 25-30 December 2025.
- Norwegian chess Grandmaster (GM) Magnus Carlsen clinched his sixth World Rapid championship title in the Open category, while Russian GM Aleksandra Goryachkina from Russia took the maiden FIDE Women’s World Rapid Championship .
- GM Magnus Carlsen clinched his ninth World Blitz Championship title in the Open category, while in the women’s section, Bibisara Assaubayeva of Kazakhstan won the FIDE Women’s World Blitz Championship 2025.
Exam Hints:
- Event: 2025 FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships
- Where? Doha, Qatar
- When? 26-30 December 2025
- Rapid Open Champion: Magnus Carlsen (Norway)
- Rapid Women’s Champion: Aleksandra Goryachkina (Russia)
- Indian Medalists (Rapid):
- Open Bronze: Arjun Erigaisi
- Women’s Bronze: Koneru Humpy
- Blitz Open Champion: Magnus Carlsen (Norway)
- Blitz Women’s Champion: Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan)
- Indian Medalists (Blitz):
- Open Bronze: Arjun Erigaisi (India) shared with Fabiano Caruana (USA)
Highlights of 2025 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championship:
Event: Annual rapid & Blitz chess championship organized by FIDE, featuring top global players.
Prize Fund: The EUR 1 million prize fund was split into EUR 700,000 for Open and EUR 300,000 for Women, evenly divided between Rapid and Blitz, with first prizes of EUR 70,000 (Open) and EUR 40,000 (Women), and EUR 50,000 and EUR 36,000 for second and third places respectively.
Format:
- Rapid format: Consisted of 13 rounds in the Open section and 11 rounds in the Women’s section.
- Blitz format: Featured Swiss-system rounds followed by knockout stages.
Rapid Open Section:
Champion: Magnus Carlsen of Norway secured his sixth World Rapid title (2014, 2015, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2025) with a score of 10.5 out of 13 points.
Silver: GM Vladislav Artemiev (Russia) scored 9.5 points.
Bronze: Indian GM Arjun Erigaisi scored 9.5 points, finished third on tie-breaks.
Indian Players: Aravindh Chithambaram (16th), Nihal Sarin (19th), D. Gukesh (20th), all with 8.5 points.
Rapid Women’s Section:
Champion: GM Aleksandra Goryachkina (Russia) scored 8.5/11 points and claimed the title by defeating Zhu Jiner (China) 1.5–0.5 in a blitz playoff.
Silver: GM Zhu Jiner (China) finished runner-up.
Bronze: Indian GM Koneru Humpy scored 8.5 points, placed third on tie-breaks, extending her World Rapid medal record following golds in 2019 and 2024.
Indian Players: B. Savitha Shri – 4th, R. Vaishali – 5th, Divya Deshmukh – 8th.
Blitz Open Section:
Champion: GM Magnus Carlsen defeated GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) 2.5–1.5 in the final to win his ninth World Blitz title, marking his 20th World Championship crown across Rapid, Classical, and Blitz, and completing the 2025 Rapid–Blitz Double Crown.
Silver: GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) finished runner-up in the final, earning his first-ever medal in the World Blitz format.
Bronze: Indian GM Arjun Erigaisi and GM Fabiano Caruana (United States of America, USA) shared the bronze medals, with Erigaisi also becoming only the second Indian after GM Viswanathan Anand to win both World Rapid & Blitz medals in the Open category.
Note: 12-year-old FIDE Master Sergey Sklokin (Russia/Armenia) defeated Indian GM Gukesh Dommaraju at the 2025 FIDE World Blitz Championship, highlighting the volatility of Blitz chess.
Blitz Women’s Section:
Champion: GM Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan) won her third World Blitz title by defeating GM Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine) 2.5–1.5 in the final, also earning qualification for the 2026 FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament.
Silver: GM Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine) finished runner-up, securing her fifth career medal in the World Blitz format.
Bronze: GM Zhu Jiner (China) and GM Eline Roebers (Netherlands) shared the bronze medals.
2025 FIDE World Rapid Chess Championships:
| Rank/Medal | Open Section | Women’s Section | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Points | Player | Points | |
| 1 (Gold) | Magnus Carlsen (Norway) | 10.5 / 13 | Aleksandra Goryachkina (Russia) | 8.5 / 11 |
| 2 (Silver) | Vladislav Artemiev (Russia) | 9.5 / 13 | Zhu Jiner (China) | 8.5 / 11 |
| 3 (Bronze) | Arjun Erigaisi (India) | 9.5 / 13 | Koneru Humpy (India) | 8.5 / 11 |
2025 FIDE World Blitz Chess Championships:
| Rank/Medal | Open Section | Women’s Section | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Swiss Points | Player | Points | |
| 1 (Gold) | Magnus Carlsen (Norway) | 13.5/19 | Bibisara Assaubayeva (Kazakhstan) | 11/15 |
| 2 (Silver) | Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) | 13/19 | Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine) | 11/15 |
| 3 (Bronze) | Arjun Erigaisi (India) and Fabiano Caruana (United States of America, USA) | 15/19 & 14/19 | Zhu Jiner (China) and Eline Roebers (Netherlands) | 11/15 (both) |
About Federation Internationale des Echecs/International Chess Federation (FIDE):
President – Arkady Dvorkovich
Headquarters – Lausanne, Switzerland
Established – 1924
