DOHA: India’s reigning World champion (classical) Gukesh Dommaraju will join over 360 players in the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championship in Doha.
The event will be held from December 25 to 30.
Gukesh’s participation is expected to draw a lot of interest from the local Indian expats in the Qatari capital.
His superb result in Zagreb earlier this year make him among the favourites in Rapid.
The competition brings together a field featuring multiple world champions besides sport’s highest-rated competitors and rising stars.
A total of 233 players is registered for the Blitz Open and 230 for the Rapid.
“Doha is now the only city to host the World Rapid & Blitz Championship twice, a milestone for chess and for sports in Qatar. It reflects our deep passion for the game and our commitment to delivering excellence,” said Mohammad Al Mudahka, President of Qatar Chess Federation.
Among others who will be in action include Magnus Carlsen, who will try to unsettle 2024 World Rapid champion, Volodar Murzin.
Many seasoned elite players such as 2024 World Blitz co-champion Ian Nepomniachtchi, Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri, Wesley So, and Levon Aronian have also confirmed their participation.
Challenging them will be a new generation of contenders: Vincent Keymer, Arjun Erigaisi, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Praggnanandhaa R, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, and Ediz Gürel.
The World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championship has a prize fund of over €1,000,000 spread across both the Open and the Women’s competitions.
Doha last hosted the championship in 2016, when Vasyl Ivanchuk claimed the title in the Rapid section and Sergey Karjakin became the Blitz World Champion.
