Carlsen, Nakamura absence opens door for India

A rested R Praggnanandhaa, a determined Arjun Erigaisi, and the reigning world champion D Gukesh headline India’s formidable challenge at the FIDE World Cup, which begins in Goa on Saturday. With several of the sport’s biggest names skipping the event, India’s golden generation of chess looks well poised for another memorable run.

The prestigious knockout tournament, carrying a prize pool of USD 2 million, will see 206 of the world’s best players from 80 countries competing over the next four weeks. Absent from the fray are Norway’s Magnus Carlsen and American heavyweights Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana leaving the field more open than usual.

The World Cup holds extra significance, offering three coveted qualification spots for the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament, the stepping stone to the next World Championship match. For most of the top contenders, this is the gateway to challenging Gukesh for the world title next year.

While Gukesh is already exempt from the qualification process as the reigning world champion, Praggnanandhaa is also nearly assured of a berth in the Candidates due to his strong current ranking. The focus, therefore, will be on Arjun Erigaisi, who is desperate to secure his place in what would be the biggest tournament of his career.

India’s chances don’t stop there. The experienced duo of Vidit Gujrathi and Pentala Harikrishna will also be eyeing the top three spots, while young stars Nihal Sarin and Aravindh Chithambaram could spring surprises. Notably, this edition marks India’s largest-ever representation at the World Cup, with 24 participants in total.

The format remains intense and unforgiving; each match features two classical games under standard time controls. If scores are tied, players will battle it out in rapid and blitz tiebreakers to decide who advances. The top 50 players have received direct entry into the second round, while 156 others will fight for 78 qualifying spots in the opening phase.

Indian chess is riding a remarkable wave of success from Gukesh’s historic World Championship triumph to the country’s twin golds in the Olympiad and Divya Deshmukh’s Women’s World Cup title. The Goa World Cup offers yet another stage for India’s young stars to shine.

Still, global competition remains fierce. Dutch grandmaster Anish Giri, Germany’s Vincent Keymer, and Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov arrive in top form, promising a thrilling contest for supremacy when the pieces start moving on Saturday.