Magnus Carlsen
Doha: Norwegian former world champion Magnus Carlsen has officially confirmed his participation in the Qatar 2025 Rapid and Blitz Chess World Cup. The International Chess Federation (FIDE) announced today that Carlsen will compete in the event, which will be hosted by Qatar University at the Sports and Events Complex from December 25 to 31.
FIDE stated that Carlsen joins more than 360 players who have confirmed their participation in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Doha. The federation added that Carlsen confirmed his appearance in the upcoming edition after taking part in the previous one, held in New York City, where he won the gold medal in the World Blitz Championship.
According to FIDE, the Blitz Championship will feature 233 players, while the Rapid Championship will include 230. Several elite players have also confirmed their participation, including India’s Rapid world champion Gukesh Dommaraju, 2024 World Blitz champion Ian Nepomniachtchi, Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri, Wesley So, Levon Aronian, Vincent Keymer, Arjun Erigaisi, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, R. Praggnanandhaa, Yagiz Can Erdoğmuş, and Yildiz Görel.
Also participating are Russia’s Alexander Grischuk and Ukraine’s Vasyl Ivanchuk, the 2016 Doha World Rapid Chess champion.
On the women’s side, Chinese world champion Ju Wenjun officially announced her participation. The women’s competitions will feature 130 players, including top-ranked stars such as Zhu Jiner, Lei Tingjie, Aleksandra Goryachkina, and Humpy Koneru. Anna Muzychuk, winner of the 2016 Doha World Rapid and Blitz Championships, and her sister Mariya will also participate.
FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich expressed great satisfaction with the level of participation in the Doha World Cup for rapid and blitz chess, saying: “The FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships are among the most exciting and watched chess events of the year. I would like to thank the local organizing committee for their tireless efforts in making it such a fantastic event.”
Qatar Chess Federation President Mohammed Al-Mudahka confirmed that the participation of Carlsen is a major achievement that will bring significant positive impact to the tournament, which begins at the end of December.
Al-Mudahka added that the Qatar Chess Federation played an essential role in convincing Carlsen to take part, especially after the events surrounding last year’s World Rapid and Blitz Championships in New York, which led to the Norwegian star’s withdrawal from the Rapid Championship.
He explained: “Doha is now the only city to host the World Rapid and Blitz Championships twice, after previously hosting them in 2016. This is a landmark accomplishment in the history of chess and sport in Qatar. Doha returns to host the championships after nine years, confirming Qatar’s growing stature in the chess world. We are proud to welcome an elite group of the world’s top players to Doha.”
