2025 World Rapid & Blitz Championships: Exciting Changes in Doha

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has unveiled the regulations for the 2025 World Rapid and Blitz Championships, set to make their return to Doha, Qatar, from December 26 to 30, 2025. This prestigious event, boasting a €1 million prize fund (€700,000 for Open, €300,000 for Women’s), will feature top players, likely to include world champions Gukesh Dommaraju and Ju Wenjun, alongside the defending world blitz co-champion Magnus Carlsen.

Doha, a growing chess hub, previously hosted the event in 2016, and anticipation for 2025’s year-end spectacle is also high. Even though rapid remains the usual 13 rounds for open and 11 rounds for women’s events, a notable change is being introduced in the Blitz Championship’s format. Unlike the 2024 event, which saw an eight-player knockout bracket following a 13-round Swiss, the 2025 edition streamlines this to only the top four from the Swiss stage qualifying for the semifinals – The Open Blitz will feature 19 Swiss rounds (up from 13), and the Women’s 15 rounds (up from 11), ensuring a tougher qualification process.

A new sudden-death game rule guarantees a decisive winner if the final is tied after four games, addressing last year’s controversial Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi title-sharing incident.

FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky explained the rationale behind the changes – one being more number of games and opportunities for all the players before the KO stage. The format allows as many as 19 games in the Swiss, providing 2 playing days for all the players and ample opportunity, and the KO phase enhances the viewer experience by having them witness the final high-stakes battles going down. With Qatar’s world-class hosting, the 2025 Championships promise intense battles and a dramatic close to the chess year.