World Rapid and Blitz Championships: Koneru Humpy Eyes Title Defence, Gukesh Looks For Year-End Respite

Last Updated:December 24, 2025, 19:18 IST

Humpy aims to hold on to her crown at the star-studded event in Doha, while Gukesh will have a chance to conclude a subpar season, by his lofty standards, on a high.

World champion D Gukesh will have the chance to conclude the season on a high note following an underwhelming year, while Koneru Humpy aims to defend her title as the star-studded FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships commence on Thursday.

This season-ending event attracts the elite of chess, and the upcoming edition will feature five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen, Americans Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So, Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, and Indian players R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, and Nihal Sarin, among others, vying for the top prize in the Open section.

D Gukesh, who won the world title after defeating Ding Liren in 2023, has been overshadowed this year. The champion began 2025 with a loss to compatriot R Praggnanandhaa at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, whose rise has garnered widespread respect in the chess world, including from world No.1 Magnus Carlsen.

With the World Championships scheduled for next year, this event is an opportunity for Gukesh to regain his confidence, and what better way than to compete against Carlsen, So, and Nepomniachtchi, to name a few.

Erigaisi has also shown that he is among the leading contenders to challenge the dominance of Norway’s Carlsen and Caruana, and the 22-year-old Indian would be highly motivated after missing the chance to secure a Candidates berth at the FIDE World Cup in Goa recently.

India’s growing influence in chess is evident from the draw, with a record 29 players in rapid and blitz (Open) and another 13 players in the Women’s section, led by two-time world rapid champion and Women’s World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh, participating.

In terms of seeding in the Open section, Carlsen, a strong advocate for casual attire in the sport, arrives in Doha as the top seed in both Open Rapid and Open Blitz (2881) sections.

The five-time world rapid and eight-time world blitz champion has been the undisputed king of the chess world, and his fan-following even led the international chess federation (FIDE) to change its ‘no-jeans’ rule this year after the fiasco at the Worlds in New York, where the Norwegian was first disqualified from the rapid event but later allowed to compete in blitz in 2024.

The rigorous schedule will see the Rapid event played across 13 rounds in the Open category and 11 rounds in the women’s section with a time control of 15 minutes and a 10-second increment per move.

The Blitz event will be divided into the Swiss Tournament (19 rounds in Open and 15 in women), where the top four players will advance to the 4-game knockout matches.

With a substantial top-prize purse of 70,000 Euros for both Rapid and Blitz (Open) and 40,000 Euros in the Women’s section, the 400-player field in the tournament has everything to play for.

(With Inputs From Agencies)

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