India, Oct. 24 -- The Chess World Cup 2025 is scheduled to take place in Goa from October 31 to November 27, and to make things spicy, berths for the 2026 Candidates Tournament are at stake. The winner, runner-up and third-place finisher will bag berths at the 2026 Candidates. Indian fans will see 24 players in action, including top seed D Gukesh, who is also the reigning World Champion. The second and third seeds are also Indian GMs Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa. Meanwhile, Divya Deshmukh is the only Indian female in the event, having received a wild card after winning the Women's World Cup this year.

The tournament will be an eight-round knockout event. The top 50 seeds will be given a bye in the second round. Meanwhile, the lose...