Arjun, Gukesh, Nihal, Pragg to battle Carlsen and co. at World Rapid and Blitz Championships 2025

by Shahid Ahmed - 26/12/2025

Press Conference and Draw of Lots were held a day before the start of FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships 2025. A total of 42 Indians, 29 in Open and 13 in the Women are slated to take part which is the highest ever. Volodar Murzin, Humpy Koneru, Magnus Carlsen, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Wenjun Ju return to defend their World Rapid and Blitz titles. Arjun Erigaisi, World Champion - D Gukesh, Nihal Sarin, R Praggnanandhaa, Pentala Harikrishna, Raunak Sadhwani, Pranav Venkatesh, Aravindh Chithambaram, Surya Sekhar Ganguly, Narayanan S L, Humpy Koneru, Harika Dronavalli, Women's World Cup 2025 champion - Divya Deshmukh and Vaishali R are the top Indians in the fray. Five rounds of Rapid in the Open and four in the Women will be played today. Round 1 starts today at 2 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. Photos: Shahid Ahmed

Humpy set to defend her crown, 42 Indians are slated to take part

"...I think playing well for me in any format is important. I am taking Rapid and Blitz a bit more seriously this year. Although that being said, I think in general, Rapid and Blitz events have been slightly less priority than Classical events for me. This is an event in which I don't have a lot of expectations. So I am just here to play, just experiment and enjoy... " - World Champion, D Gukesh on if he feels that he has freedom to perform in any way in Rapid and Blitz events as he is the Classical World Champion or whether he feels added responsibility to perform well across all formats.

L to R: Magnus Carlsen (NOR), Mohd. Al-Mudahka, President, Qatar Chess Assocation, Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE President, Wenjun Ju (CHN), World Women's Classical and Blitz Champion, D Gukesh, World Champion

"I love being a husband and a father. It's been a fantastic experience this year. As for now, neither my wife, nor my son are too much of a help unfortunately, in terms of chess advice yet. So, it really hasn't changed much and I am here to win as always, doesn't change." - Magnus Carlsen on whether becoming a father changed his approach, mentality and if it will impact his game.

World Rapid and Blitz 2025 Press Conference | Video: ChessBase India

Magnus Carlsen put his own spin on doing the Draw of Lots for World Rapid 2025 Open

The reigning World Women's Classical and Blitz champion, Wenjun Ju (CHN) drew the black piece for the first round of World Rapid Women Championship 2025

Interview with the World Champion - D Gukesh | Video: ChessBase India

The winner's trophy

Watch live stream

Live Commentary of World Rapid 2025 Day 1 by IM Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal from 2 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST | Video: ChessBase India

Indian players in Rapid Open

No.		Name	FideID	FED	Rtg	Name
9	GM	Erigaisi Arjun	35009192	IND	2714	Rapid - Open
16	GM	Gukesh D	46616543	IND	2692	Rapid - Open
24	GM	Nihal Sarin	25092340	IND	2664	Rapid - Open
25	GM	Praggnanandhaa R	25059530	IND	2663	Rapid - Open
44	GM	Harikrishna Pentala	5007003	IND	2623	Rapid - Open
51	GM	Sadhwani Raunak	35093487	IND	2611	Rapid - Open
59	GM	Pranav V	25060783	IND	2595	Rapid - Open
63	GM	Aravindh Chithambaram VR.	5072786	IND	2590	Rapid - Open
67	GM	Ganguly Surya Shekhar	5002150	IND	2585	Rapid - Open
68	GM	Narayanan S L	5058422	IND	2582	Rapid - Open
88	GM	Chanda Sandipan	5004225	IND	2553	Rapid - Open
93	GM	Sasikiran Krishnan	5004985	IND	2548	Rapid - Open
98	GM	Puranik Abhimanyu	5061245	IND	2542	Rapid - Open
112	GM	Pranesh M	35028600	IND	2520	Rapid - Open
123	GM	Adhiban B.	5018471	IND	2503	Rapid - Open
128	GM	Mendonca Leon Luke	35028561	IND	2498	Rapid - Open
137	GM	Mitrabha Guha	5057000	IND	2487	Rapid - Open
142	GM	Bharath Subramaniyam H	46634827	IND	2475	Rapid - Open
146	GM	Karthik Venkataraman	25006479	IND	2467	Rapid - Open
157	GM	Iniyan Pa	25002767	IND	2450	Rapid - Open
161	GM	Aditya Mittal	35042025	IND	2440	Rapid - Open
167	GM	Raja Rithvik R	35007394	IND	2428	Rapid - Open
169	GM	Sankalp Gupta	5097010	IND	2425	Rapid - Open
172	GM	Pranav Anand	46626786	IND	2421	Rapid - Open
184	GM	Raja Harshit	5089000	IND	2396	Rapid - Open
189	IM	Goutham Krishna H	25983504	IND	2392	Rapid - Open
212	IM	Sharan Rao	5073464	IND	2320	Rapid - Open
217	GM	Harikrishnan.A.Ra .	5081483	IND	2293	Rapid - Open
226	IM	Harshavardhan G B	25059009	IND	2216	Rapid - Open

Details

Indian players in Rapid Women

No.		Name	FideID	FED	Rtg	Name
8	GM	Koneru Humpy	5008123	IND	2448	Rapid - Women
9	GM	Dronavalli Harika	5015197	IND	2435	Rapid - Women
13	GM	Divya Deshmukh	35006916	IND	2419	Rapid - Women
25	GM	Vaishali Rameshbabu	5091756	IND	2359	Rapid - Women
34	IM	Vantika Agrawal	25050389	IND	2321	Rapid - Women
47	IM	Padmini Rout	5029295	IND	2290	Rapid - Women
67	IM	Savitha Shri B	35061887	IND	2238	Rapid - Women
82	WGM	Nandhidhaa P V	5050847	IND	2186	Rapid - Women
85	WGM	Priyanka Nutakki	25049615	IND	2176	Rapid - Women
89	WIM	Sharma Isha	35006665	IND	2168	Rapid - Women
112	WGM	Rakshitta Ravi	25073230	IND	2082	Rapid - Women
120	WIM	Parnali S Dharia	5043131	IND	2021	Rapid - Women
127	WFM	Charvi A	25165518	IND	1962	Rapid - Women