Why Did Alireza Firouzja Quit the 2025 FIDE World Cup?

The updated participants list for the 2025 FIDE World Cup raised eyebrows across the chess world. One of the most notable omissions is Alireza Firouzja, the French-Iranian grandmaster once seen as the heir to Magnus Carlsen’s throne. His absence has fueled speculation and disappointment, not least because it almost certainly ends his hopes of qualifying for the 2026 Candidates Tournament.

A Pattern of Avoidance

This is not the first time Firouzja has skipped the World Cup. He also declined to play in the previous edition, openly admitting that he disliked the format. According to his own explanation at the time, he does not enjoy the idea of “playing chess for a whole month and doing nothing else.” The World Cup, with its grueling knockout format stretching over weeks, is notoriously demanding both physically and mentally.

For some players, the unpredictability of the tournament is also a deterrent. Participants never know how long they will need to stay, as early elimination could mean going home in just a few days, while a deep run demands an entire month away from other commitments. For Firouzja, who has often voiced his distaste for long, restrictive events, the World Cup appears to be a poor fit.

Implications for His Career

By skipping the event, Firouzja effectively closes one of the main doors to the Candidates. Other qualification routes exist, such as the FIDE Circuit or high rating, but his chances there are too slim compared to what a strong World Cup performance could have secured.

His decision has sparked concern among fans and commentators alike. Some argue that it reflects a deeper lack of commitment. “Talent alone isn’t enough,” one critic noted, pointing out that the road to the World Championship demands not just brilliance but also endurance, discipline, and sacrifice.

Others worry that Firouzja’s unwillingness to embrace the grind of tournaments like the World Cup may prevent him from ever becoming World Champion. Preparing for a World Championship match requires months of intense, highly disciplined study—a process arguably even more demanding than the World Cup schedule.

From Chess Prodigy to “What If”?

Firouzja’s career trajectory has been unusual. Once the youngest player to break the 2800 Elo barrier, he was hailed as a generational talent. Yet, in recent years, his results have been mixed, and his interests outside of chess—such as fashion—have raised questions about where his priorities lie.

His third-place finish at the 2023 FIDE Grand Swiss showed glimpses of his strength, but it was not enough to reach the Candidates. At that event, Firouzja reportedly remarked that his focus was on qualifying through the Grand Swiss rather than the World Cup, further reinforcing the notion that he simply does not see the knockout tournament as part of his path.

What Comes Next?

Firouzja’s absence leaves fans divided. Some accept his stance, believing that he should focus only on the formats and events he enjoys. Others feel a sense of loss, fearing that one of the brightest chess prodigies of the past decade is content to let the dream of a World Championship title slip away.

The World Cup has always been a brutal proving ground where even elite players are at risk of early elimination. For many, that unpredictability is part of the magic. For Firouzja, it appears to be exactly what drives him away.

With the Candidates race heating up and younger stars like Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh, and Vincent Keymer rising rapidly, Firouzja’s absence may mark not just a skipped tournament, but a turning point. If he continues to avoid key events, his career risks becoming a story of “what could have been.”

About the 2025 chess World Cup

The FIDE Chess World Cup 2025 will be staged in Goa, India, from October 31 to November 27, 2025. It marks the 11th edition of the knockout tournament and will feature 206 players battling in a single-elimination format, organized by the All India Chess Federation under FIDE’s authority. The event carries extra weight in the World Championship cycle, as the top three finishers will secure qualification for the 2026 Candidates Tournament. Unlike recent editions, the women’s competition will not run in parallel but was already held earlier in the year in Georgia.

The format remains an eight-round knockout. The top 50 seeds will receive byes into the second round, while the remaining players fight from the start. Each mini-match begins with two classical games (90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes to finish, with a 30-second increment from move one). If the score is level, rapid and blitz tie-breaks will be played on the third day. The semi-final losers will contest a separate match for third place to determine the final Candidates spot.

The schedule spans nearly a month: Rounds 1–3 from November 1 to 9, followed by a rest day; Rounds 4–6 from November 11 to 19, with another rest day on November 20; and the semi-finals and final between November 21 and 26.

A record prize fund of $2,000,000 has been allocated. The winner takes $120,000, the runner-up $85,000, and third place $60,000. Even those knocked out in the early rounds will earn significant rewards, with $3,500 for Round 1 exits and steadily rising payouts up to $50,000 for fourth place.

The Full List

Updated on Sep 22

#	FIDE ID	Name	FED	Title	Rating	B-Year
1	25059530	Praggnanandhaa R	IND	GM	2785	2005
2	35009192	Erigaisi Arjun	IND	GM	2771	2003
3	46616543	Gukesh D	IND	GM	2767	2006
4	5202213	So, Wesley	USA	GM	2756	1993
5	8603405	Wei, Yi	CHN	GM	2753	1999
6	12940690	Keymer, Vincent	GER	GM	2751	2004
7	14204118	Abdusattorov, Nodirbek	UZB	GM	2748	2004
8	24116068	Giri, Anish	NED	GM	2746	1994
9	13300474	Aronian, Levon	USA	GM	2744	1982
10	4168119	Nepomniachtchi, Ian	FID	GM	2742	1990
11	13401319	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	AZE	GM	2741	1985
12	623539	Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	FRA	GM	2738	1990
13	2093596	Niemann, Hans Moke	USA	GM	2733	2003
14	24130737	Fedoseev, Vladimir	SLO	GM	2731	1995
15	12401137	Le, Quang Liem	VIE	GM	2729	1991
16	14205483	Sindarov, Javokhir	UZB	GM	2722	2005
17	8603820	Yu, Yangyi	CHN	GM	2714	1994
18	5029465	Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi	IND	GM	2712	1994
19	738590	Rapport, Richard	HUN	GM	2711	1996
20	5072786	Aravindh, Chithambaram VR.	IND	GM	2711	1999
21	5007003	Harikrishna, Pentala	IND	GM	2704	1986
22	2056437	Liang, Awonder	USA	GM	2698	2003
23	25092340	Nihal Sarin	IND	GM	2693	2004
24	1039784	Van Foreest, Jorden	NED	GM	2692	1999
25	2040506	Sevian, Samuel	USA	GM	2692	2000
26	12539929	Maghsoodloo, Parham	IRI	GM	2692	2000
27	24126055	Dubov, Daniil	FID	GM	2691	1996
28	24175439	Esipenko, Andrey	FID	GM	2687	2002
29	24133795	Sarana, Alexey	SRB	GM	2686	2000
30	8601445	Bu, Xiangzhi	CHN	GM	2684	1985
31	14203987	Yakubboev, Nodirbek	UZB	GM	2681	2002
32	2023970	Robson, Ray	USA	GM	2674	1994
33	4135539	Alekseenko, Kirill	AUT	GM	2674	1997
34	1226380	Deac, Bogdan-Daniel	ROU	GM	2674	2001
35	24651516	Bluebaum, Matthias	GER	GM	2671	1997
36	2004887	Shankland, Sam	USA	GM	2670	1991
37	44155573	Murzin, Volodar	FID	GM	2670	2006
38	5074452	Karthikeyan, Murali	IND	GM	2669	1999
39	4152956	Vitiugov, Nikita	ENG	GM	2666	1987
40	703303	Leko, Peter	HUN	GM	2666	1979
41	24101605	Artemiev, Vladislav	FID	GM	2664	1998
42	1118358	Wojtaszek, Radoslaw	POL	GM	2661	1987
43	24125890	Oparin, Grigoriy	USA	GM	2660	1997
44	358878	Nguyen, Thai Dai Van	CZE	GM	2660	2001
45	1512668	Christiansen, Johan-Sebastian	NOR	GM	2655	1998
46	14508150	Saric, Ivan	CRO	GM	2655	1990
47	309095	Navara, David	CZE	GM	2653	1985
48	13306766	Sargsyan, Shant	ARM	GM	2653	2002
49	13401653	Mamedov, Rauf	AZE	GM	2651	1988
50	911925	Indjic, Aleksandar	SRB	GM	2650	1995
51	1710400	Grandelius, Nils	SWE	GM	2648	1993
52	24131423	Yuffa, Daniil	ESP	GM	2648	1997
53	12909572	Kollars, Dmitrij	GER	GM	2647	1999
54	4262875	Theodorou, Nikolas	GRE	GM	2646	2000
55	400041	Adams, Michael	ENG	GM	2646	1971
56	712779	Gledura, Benjamin	HUN	GM	2646	1999
57	44599790	Erdogmus, Yagiz Kaan	TUR	GM	2646	2011
58	14204223	Vokhidov, Shamsiddin	UZB	GM	2645	2002
59	2806851	Rodshtein, Maxim	ISR	GM	2645	1989
60	12923044	Svane, Frederik	GER	GM	2643	2004
61	9301348	Salem, A.R. Saleh	UAE	GM	2640	1993
62	2047640	Xiong, Jeffery	USA	GM	2640	2000
63	3805662	Martinez Alcantara, Jose Eduardo	MEX	GM	2639	1999
64	4108116	Chigaev, Maksim	ESP	GM	2638	1996
65	605506	Bacrot, Etienne	FRA	GM	2637	1983
66	10601457	Amin, Bassem	EGY	GM	2636	1988
67	44507356	Gurel, Ediz	TUR	GM	2631	2008
68	1510045	Tari, Aryan	NOR	GM	2631	1999
69	950122	Ivic, Velimir	SRB	GM	2630	2002
70	13302507	Hovhannisyan, Robert	ARM	GM	2629	1991
71	13306553	Martirosyan, Haik M.	ARM	GM	2628	2000
72	2905540	Cheparinov, Ivan	BUL	GM	2627	1986
73	13300881	Sargissian, Gabriel	ARM	GM	2626	1983
74	2285525	Anton Guijarro, David	ESP	GM	2625	1995
75	24603295	Donchenko, Alexander	GER	GM	2624	1998
76	240990	Dardha, Daniel	BEL	GM	2624	2005
77	4657101	Svane, Rasmus	GER	GM	2620	1997
78	4118987	Najer, Evgeniy	FID	GM	2613	1977
79	35028600	Pranesh M	IND	GM	2611	2006
80	30920019	Mishra, Abhimanyu	USA	GM	2611	2009
81	662399	Lagarde, Maxime	FRA	GM	2609	1994
82	14100010	Ivanchuk, Vasyl	UKR	GM	2608	1969
83	13413937	Suleymanli, Aydin	AZE	GM	2602	2005
84	12510130	Idani, Pouya	IRI	GM	2599	1995
85	25002767	Iniyan, Pa	IND	GM	2599	2002
86	12576468	Daneshvar, Bardiya	IRI	GM	2598	2006
87	4300033	Cheng, Bobby	AUS	GM	2596	1997
88	4675789	Meier, Georg	URU	GM	2596	1987
89	4121830	Motylev, Alexander	ROU	GM	2595	1979
90	14506688	Brkic, Ante	CRO	GM	2594	1988
91	3802272	Cori, Jorge	PER	GM	2594	1995
92	3409350	Henriquez Villagra, Cristobal	CHI	GM	2594	1996
93	5058422	Narayanan S L	IND	GM	2591	1998
94	24604747	Huschenbeth, Niclas	GER	GM	2591	1992
95	6302718	Yilmaz, Mustafa	TUR	GM	2591	1992
96	1048104	Warmerdam, Max	NED	GM	2591	2000
97	13601520	Jobava, Baadur	GEO	GM	2590	1983
98	10601619	Adly, Ahmed	EGY	GM	2589	1987
99	13402960	Abasov, Nijat	AZE	GM	2587	1995
100	24249971	Zemlyanskii, Ivan	FID	GM	2586	2010
101	24198455	Nesterov, Arseniy	FID	GM	2584	2003
102	11601388	Neiksans, Arturs	LAT	GM	2584	1983
103	4221990	Kourkoulos-Arditis, Stamatis	GRE	GM	2583	1998
104	1112635	Bartel, Mateusz	POL	GM	2581	1985
105	8602280	Bai, Jinshi	CHN	GM	2578	1999
106	1207822	Lupulescu, Constantin	ROU	GM	2578	1984
107	5804418	Tin, Jingyao	SGP	GM	2577	2000
108	751499	Kantor, Gergely	HUN	GM	2576	1999
109	5045207	Ghosh, Diptayan	IND	GM	2573	1998
110	2106388	Supi, Luis Paulo	BRA	GM	2573	1996
111	5002150	Ganguly, Surya Shekhar	IND	GM	2573	1983
112	25006479	Karthik Venkataraman	IND	GM	2571	1999
113	2107139	Fier, Alexandr	BRA	GM	2569	1988
114	4101286	Petrov, Nikita	MNE	GM	2569	1996
115	1130420	Piorun, Kacper	POL	GM	2568	1991
116	884189	Lodici, Lorenzo	ITA	GM	2560	2000
117	108049	Flores, Diego	ARG	GM	2558	1982
118	4692055	Bogner, Sebastian	SUI	GM	2558	1991
119	13504398	Kovalev, Vladislav	FID	GM	2557	1994
120	30953499	Woodward, Andy	USA	GM	2557	2010
121	6302181	Can, Emre	TUR	GM	2552	1990
122	12804444	Stremavicius, Titas	LTU	GM	2548	1998
123	14618583	Subelj, Jan	SLO	GM	2545	2004
124	2107660	Mekhitarian, Krikor Sevag	BRA	GM	2545	1986
125	13710427	Nogerbek, Kazybek	KAZ	GM	2543	2004
126	35007394	Raja Rithvik R	IND	GM	2541	2004
127	14408120	Maksimovic, Bojan	BIH	IM	2536	2002
128	681091	Velten, Paul	FRA	GM	2536	1993
129	14203049	Kuybokarov, Temur	AUS	GM	2535	2000
130	2911086	Petrov, Martin	BUL	GM	2533	2000
131	24183750	Lobanov, Sergei	FID	GM	2526	2001
132	13707647	Makhnev, Denis	KAZ	GM	2525	2000
133	4430492	Cardoso Cardoso, Jose Gabriel	COL	GM	2524	2004
134	13417444	Samadov, Read	AZE	IM	2523	2007
135	13413007	Ahmadzada, Ahmad	AZE	GM	2523	2004
136	30908604	Ghazarian, Kirk	USA	GM	2518	2006
137	2620049	Rodrigue-Lemieux, Shawn	CAN	GM	2516	2004
138	8610550	Peng, Xiongjian	CHN	GM	2515	2000
139	25072846	Aronyak Ghosh	IND	IM	2514	2003
140	1632051	Blohberger, Felix	AUT	GM	2513	2002
141	1204297	Parligras, Mircea-Emilian	ROU	GM	2503	1980
142	3509265	Garcia Pantoja, Roberto	COL	GM	2502	1992
143	5024595	Lalit Babu M R	IND	GM	2502	1993
144	5123119	Galaviz Medina, Sion Radamantys	MEX	IM	2498	2005
145	10613129	Fawzy, Adham	EGY	GM	2495	2000
146	14000571	Atabayev, Saparmyrat	TKM	GM	2494	1999
147	696358	Bellahcene, Bilel	ALG	GM	2492	1998
148	13707833	Suleymenov, Alisher	KAZ	GM	2491	2000
149	4437128	Avila Pavas, Santiago	COL	GM	2490	2004
150	13301004	Grigoryan, Karen H.	ARM	GM	2485	1995
151	14210495	Suyarov, Mukhammadzokhid	UZB	IM	2482	2009
152	13602071	Pantsulaia, Levan	GEO	GM	2480	1986
153	13907808	Lashkin, Jegor	MDA	IM	2480	2003
154	35006916	Divya Deshmukh	IND	GM	2478	2005
155	5033861	Gusain, Himal	IND	IM	2477	1993
156	25059009	Harshavardhan G B	IND	IM	2476	2003
157	13715658	Ansat, Aldiyar	KAZ	IM	2471	2008
158	5818320	Siddharth, Jagadeesh	SGP	GM	2468	2007
159	5094160	Neelash Saha	IND	IM	2466	2002
160	20000197	Oro, Faustino	ARG	IM	2464	2013
161	3516016	Berdayes Ason, Dylan Isidro	CUB	GM	2456	1998
162	3814017	Cori Quispe, Kevin Joel	MEX	GM	2453	1999
163	3407128	Salinas Herrera, Pablo	CHI	GM	2451	1994
164	4901606	Agibileg, Uurtsaikh	MGL	IM	2449	2001
165	12424714	Banh Gia Huy	VIE	IM	2440	2009
166	13100050	Rakotomaharo, Fy Antenaina	MAD	IM	2438	1999
167	3819434	Rojas Salas, Steven	PER	IM	2424	2004
168	9915834	Liyanage, Ranindu Dilshan	SRI	IM	2423	2003
169	6205003	Laohawirapap, Prin	THA	IM	2423	2006
170	5217911	Quizon, Daniel	PHI	GM	2420	2004
171	3007669	Vazquez, Facundo	URU	IM	2419	2004
172	10207791	Mohammad Fahad, Rahman	BAN	IM	2416	2003
173	12401404	Tran, Thanh Tu	JPN	IM	2412	1990
174	169013	Schnaider, Ilan	ARG	IM	2409	2011
175	8610665	Wang, Shixu B	CHN	IM	2407	2001
176	2605058	Thavandiran, Shiyam	CAN	IM	2402	1992
177	4902548	Amartuvshin, Ganzorig	MGL	IM	2398	2005
178	7124252	Cahaya, Satria Duta	INA	FM	2393	2008
179	3957624	Cordoba Roa, Angel Gabriel	COL	FM	2387	2006
180	11000430	Mandizha, Farai	ZIM	IM	2375	1985
181	13802240	Orozbaev, Eldiyar	KGZ	IM	2375	2006
182	13714287	Akhmedinov, Satbek	KAZ	IM	2372	2006
183	10224009	Manon, Reja Neer	BAN	IM	2369	2010
184	8700265	Mwali, Chitumbo	ZAM	IM	2364	1986
185	9000127	Elbilia, Jacques	MAR	FM	2332	1971
186	806404	Efimov, Igor	MNC	GM	2331	1960
187	14700948	Ilkhomi, Jaloliddin	TJK	FM	2322	2007
188	5739047	Kavin Mohan	MAS	FM	2309	2011
189	11101644	Husbands, Orlando	BAR	IM	2291	1997
190	14304600	Barrish, Daniel	RSA	FM	2284	2000
191	8500037	Kigigha, Bomo Lovet	NGR	FM	2263	1982
192	4800575	Salih, Akar Ali Salih	IRQ	FM	2212	1990
193	5500419	Amdouni, Zoubaier	TUN	FM	2186	1987
194	7907559	Boulrens, Ala Eddine	ALG		2174	2000
195	13209590	Huh, Isaak	KOR	CM	2139	2011
196	7818424	Mafaaz Khalid	PAK	CM	2118	1983
197	11501731	Allam, Mohamed	PLE	CM	2112	2001
198	21518840	Alrehaili, Ahmed Abdullah S	KSA	FM	2109	2000
199	15202020	Ndahangwapo, Heskiel	NAM	CM	2081	2000
200	4304314	Qin, Oscar Shu Xuan	NZL	CM	2078	2008
201	10100717	Sapalo, Gabriel	ANG		2048	1975
202	6006760	Li, Yiheng	HKG	CM	1994	2012
203	9202544	Abugenda, Nagi	LBA	CM	1972	1986
204		Maurizzi/Grebnev match winner
205
206