India’s R Praggnanandhaa is set to clash with Jeffery Xiong at the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025, where Gukesh will face Etienne Bacrot. With top players like Carlsen, Caruana, and Nakamura absent, Indian players lead the seeds. Divya Deshmukh competes in the open section, while the tournament offers Candidates qualification spots and a substantial prize fund.
India’s top seed R Praggnanandhaa will face American Grandmaster Jeffery Xiong in the opening round of FIDE Grand Swiss 2025. World champion D Gukesh will compete against French player Etienne Bacrot.The tournament features 116 players in the open category and 56 in the women’s section. The total prize fund is USD 855,000, with USD 625,000 designated for the open section.
Format and scheduleThe tournament will be conducted as a Swiss Open over 11 rounds. Two places in both the open and women’s sections are available for qualification to the next Candidates Tournament. Despite being part of the qualification cycle, the top three ranked players in the world will be missing from this event.
Magnus Carlsen is absent, citing his disinterest in Classical chess and world championship events.Fabiano Caruana has opted out to preserve energy, having already qualified for the Candidates.Hikaru Nakamura, ranked second, is relying on his rating average until January 2026 to secure a place in the Candidates. Interestingly, Nakamura boosted his rating by five points after a mediocre recent event in the USA.
GM Leon Mendonca Exclusive: Goa Chess Culture, Parents’ Sacrifice, Grand Swiss 2025, and MoreThe absence of this trio has led to Indian players occupying the top three seeds, a first in any open tournament.Praggnanandhaa (World No. 4), Arjun Erigaisi (No. 5), and Gukesh (No. 6) are all competing for top honours.Divya Deshmukh, the women’s World Cup winner, has opted out of the women’s section to compete in the open, starting against compatriot Abhimanyu Puranik.
Other notable Indian participants in the open include defending champion Vidit Gujrathi, P Harikrishna, Nihal Sarin, Pranav Venkatesh, and Leon Luke Mendonca. Overall, 15 Indians will compete in the open and three in the women’s section.The Indian challenge in the women’s section is led by D Harika, with R Vaishali and Vantika Agrawal completing the line-up. Koneru Humpy has opted out, having already qualified for the Women’s Candidates.Open
- 11-round swiss
- Time control: 100+30, with 50 minutes added after move 40 and 15 minutes added after move 60
- Points: 1 point for a win, 0.5 for a draw, and 0 for a loss
Women
- 11-round swiss
- Time control: 90+30, with 30 minutes added after move 40
- Points: 1 point for a win, 0.5 for a draw, and 0 for a loss
Indian Pairings – Round 1
Open:
- Jeffery Xiong (USA) vs R Praggnanandhaa
- Arjun Erigaisi vs Maksim Chigaev (ESP)
- Etienne Bacrot (FRA) vs D Gukesh
- Vidit Gujrathi vs Alexander Donchenko (GER)
- P Harikrishna vs Anton Demchenko (SLO)
- Nihal Sarin vs Rasmus Svane (GER)
- Aryan Chopra vs Parham Maghsoodloo (IR)
- Luke Leon Mendonca vs Andrey Esipenko (FID)
- Aydin Suleymanli (AZE) vs Murali Karthikeyan
- Radoslav Wojtaszek (POL) vs V Pranav
- Raunak Sadhwani vs Jules Moussard (FRA)
- S L Narayanan vs Alexander Grischuk (FID)
- Rauf Mamedov (AZE) vs Aditya Mittal
- Divya Deshmukh vs Abhimanyu Puranik
Women:
- Yulia Osmak (UKR) vs Vantika Agrawal
- Marcel Eforimski (ISR) vs D Harika
- R Vaishali vs Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova (UZB)
FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 Live Streaming
All rounds of the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 will be streamed live on the official FIDE YouTube channel, allowing chess fans worldwide to follow the action in real time.