2025 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Preview

16 Americans are competing in Doha, Qatar from Dec. 26 through 30 in the 2025 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships. Play began at 5 a.m. CST on Friday, Dec. 26 for the first of three days of rapid games, with the blitz tournament taking place the final two days. The total prize fund between the four events (Open/Women’s, Rapid/Blitz) is one million euros.

The Rapid consists of 13 rounds in the Open and 11 rounds in the Women’s, while the Blitz brings back the two-stage format from the 2024 edition. This time, the first stage of the Blitz will be a one-and-a-half-day Swiss, with knockout matches during the second half of the second day. This format tweak increases the number of games in the Blitz Swiss to 19 (up from 13) in the Open and 15 (up from 11) I the Women’s event, reducing the number of players qualifying for the knockout down from eight to four.

GM Irina Krush, IM Carissa Yip, and WGM Jennifer Yu will represent USA in the two Women’s events. Last year, Yip’s 6½/11 score in the Rapid was the best score of any American, and she also made it to the knockout stage of the Blitz event after tying for third in the Swiss portion with 7½/11. 

Reigning World Rapid Champion GM Humpy Koneru (IND) and reigning World Blitz Champion Ju Wenjun (CHI) both return to defend their titles, with Ju entering as the top-rated player in both events in a field of just over 140 players.

In the Open, Americans make up roughly five percent of the approximately 250 players in the field. GMs Levon Aronian, Fabiano Caruana, Leinier Dominguez, and Wesley So are the highest-rated Americans in the Rapid, while GMs Hans Niemann, Samuel Sevian, and Ray Robson enter the Blitz with higher ratings than Dominguez. Rounding out the field are GMs Varuzhan Akobian, Andrew Hong, Brandon Jacobson, Praveen Balakrishnan, soon-to-be GM Nico Chasin, and GM Maxim Dlugy, who is only participating in the Blitz.

GMs Magnus Carlsen (NOR) and Ian Nepomniachtchi (playing under the FIDE flag as a Russian) enter as the top two players by rating in each section. Defending World Rapid champion GM Volodar Murzin (FIDE) looks to defend his title with another out-sized performance, entering as the 32^nd seed by rating. Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi each look to improve upon their controversial joint championship from last year.

Follow US Chess on Twitter/X for updates throughout the tournament, and keep an eye on Chess Life Online for WGM Sabina Foisor’s game highlights. Live games are broadcast on Chess.com and Lichess.org.