The World Cup 2025 is finally over, and Javokhir Sindarov stands victorious among 206 players who played the event.
Wei Yi, who came second, also booked a candidate spot alongside Andrey Esipenko, who won the third-place match.
From unexpected upsets to interesting comebacks, the FIDE World Cup is undoubtedly a lot to unpack.
The FIDE World Cup remains one of the most prestigious chess events.
One of the tournament highlights is that three of the top performers in the knock-out event book a spot in the candidate pool.
In this article, we will recap the most significant moments from the 20-day event.
What is the FIDE World Cup?
One of the most prestigious events on the chess calendar, the FIDE World Cup is a single-elimination tournament that ran from October 31st to November 27th, 2025.
With the tournament happening in Goa, India, the 11th edition of the chess World Cup was played in the classical time format.
With eight rounds of knockout and tiebreaks when needed, the top 50 seeds were given a bye into the second round.
Each round includes a classical match on the first two days and tie-breaks on the third day, when required.
Time control
The time control for the classical games is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, with an extra 30 minutes for the rest of the game.
There is also a 30-second increment for each move.
The tie-break modality includes two 15-minute + 10-second increments, followed by a 10 + 10-second increment.
If still tied, blitz games follow at 5 minutes + 3 seconds, then 3 minutes + 2 seconds, before Armageddon tiebreakers.
Prize money
With a total prize fund of $2,000,000 and a first prize of $120,000. The second-place winner earns $85,000, while the third-place winner earns $60,000.
Aside from the prize money, the most notable prize is direct qualification to the candidates’ cycle, which determines the challenger for the world chess championship title.
Breakout stars and Dark Horse
The 2025 FIDE World Cup featured several notable performances that shaped the event and shocked the chess world.
Nodirberk Yakubboev
Coming into the World Cup as an underdog compared to his peers and the 2700 elites, his performance turned heads. He defeated several notable GMs before being stopped by his fellow countryman.
Sam Shankland
The Veteran, who remains one of the most respected Grandmasters from the US, had what would be considered a bitter-sweet tournament by his own standards.
In round 5, he eliminated Daniil Dubov in the tiebreakers, winning to reach the quarterfinals.
Although he would soon be eliminated in a mirror of his last World Cup, his performance was impressive.
The Big Surprise: Javokhir Sindarov emerging as Champion
Sindarov, at 19, broke records to become the youngest ever winner of the FIDE World Cup.
Notably, another similar record was broken earlier in the year when Divya Deshmukh also emerged as the winner at the Women’s Chess World Cup 2025 at 19.
After two classical draws in the final round against Wei Yi, he took the tournament victory in the rapid tie-break.
The decisive game saw Wei Yi slip into an equal position under time pressure after Sindarov coordinated an attack.
The victory is perhaps one of the biggest for Sindarov, culminating in an impressive 2025 to mark the continuation of his journey into the World’s elite circle.
Upset Galore: The Knockout Chaos
Each round brought its own shock as underdogs knocked out favourites.
For example, in the second round, Ian Nepomniachtchi was eliminated by Diptayan Ghosh, who was over 200 points lower.
Others known, like Ray Robson and David Navara, also lost early in the event.
Perhaps the most outstanding upset of the whole tournament came in the third round.
The World Chess Champion, Gukesh Dommaraju, was knocked out by a much lower-rated German-GM, Frederik Svane.
Wesley So resigned a drawn position against Titas Stremavicius.
The other notable upset included Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara, who, for many spectators, is known for one of the biggest cheating scandals with Vladimir Kramnik.
Nodirbek Abdusattarov, one of the top seeds and a former world rapid champion, was knocked out in Round 3 in a complicated game.
Other notable upsets include Anish Giri (2759) losing to Alexander Donchenko (2641).
These upsets show that preparations, nerves and resilience are crucial in these knockout events.
Tension, Time Scrambles and Tactical Shows
Many of the deciding games in the FIDE World Cup were not in classical chess. For instance, the last match ended in a draw.
However, nerves were crucial, especially in the second rapid game of the tournament decider.
Notably, Sindarov missed a critical move for the rapid game that would have given him an advantage.
“One mistake under pressure” was what was needed for the players to advance to the next round in many matches.
Rising Star, New Blood: What It Means for the Chess World
2025 has been the year of the young, with the youngsters winning some of the most crucial events.
For example, Vincent Keymer’s wins and Arjun Erigaisi’s tournament performance have all been impressive throughout the year.
Sindarov’s win in the event marks the continuation of a generational shift. That a young 19-year-old player can defeat a high-rated GM like Wei Yi is impressive.
Ian Nepomniachtchi’s Online outburst
After losing the second round to Diptayan Ghosh, Ian Nepomniachtchi took to social media to publicly criticise the tournament conditions in Goa.
He was reported to have left the venue and the hotel moments after his defeat to the Indian player.
Roughly translates:
“I’d played in India before (in 2019 in Kolkata), so I had a general idea of what the conditions would be like. But FIDE, to their credit, managed to surprise me. There’s nothing to say about the chess aspect. It’s one of those places you won’t regret leaving.”
The comment he made triggered significant backlash online, with many accusing him of being a “sore loser”.
Several chess professionals also weighed in on the issue, with an overall mixed reaction from the community.
World Championship Candidates
Now that the FIDE World Cup is over, the candidates’ lineup is essentially complete.
Here is the lineup of candidates after the tournament.
- Fabiano Caruana- Winner of the 2024 FIDE Circuit ranking list
- Anish Giri- Winner of the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss
- Matthias Bluebaum- Runner-up of the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss
- Javokhir Sindarov- Winner of the 2025 FIDE World Cup
- Wei Yi– Runner-up of the 2025 FIDE World Cup
- Andrey Esipenko– Third-place finish of the 2025 FIDE World Cup
- Hikaru Nakamura- Highest average rating (that meets game count requirement over 6 months)
- 2025 FIDE Circuit Winner- R Praggnanandhaa currently the circuits.
Final Words
The 2025 FIDE World Cup will be remembered not only for the games but also for the stories that followed.
With each round bringing intense competition and emotional moments, both for fans and players alike, it was a memorable event overall.
The unexpected knockouts and the tournament’s unpredictable nature add to the thrill and drama.
As players shift their focus to the candidates’ event, the echoes of the FIDE World Cup will shape the future of chess.
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