Carlsen, Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Humpy, Harika, Wenjun among the participants of FIDE World Cup 2023
The World no.1 Magnus Carlsen and the reigning Women's World Champion - Ju Wenjun have confirmed their participation at the upcoming FIDE World Cup and Women's World Cup 2023 respectively. The confirmed Indian players so far are - D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, S L Narayanan, B Adhiban, Harsha Bharathakoti, Karthik Venkataraman, Abhimanyu Puranik, Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli, Divya Deshmukh, Nandhidhaa P V, Priyanka Nutakki and Mary Ann Gomes. More Indian players names might get announced by the end of this month. Whom do you wish to see who has not qualified yet? A total of 206 players in the Open and 103 in the Women's World Cup are slated to take part. The total prize fund is US$ 1834000 in the Open and $676250 in the Women, with the first being $110000 and $50000 is up for grabs. The total prize fund remains unchanged in Women, while in the Open it decreased by $58500. The 20% retention of each prize by FIDE has been removed from the Tournament Regulations. Photo: FIDE
FIDE World Cup 2023 is just 43 days away
The event has seen its combined prize pool boosted to a whopping USD 2.5 million, the single largest one at any chess event in the world.
The knock-out chess extravaganza, held every two years, will celebrate its 10th edition in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 30th July to 24th August 2023. The opening ceremony is scheduled for July 29th and all the first round matches will be played on the 30th.
146 of the 206 participants in the World Cup 2023 in Baku, and 71 of the 103 Women’s World Cup participants, have already been confirmed. The field will be completed between June 15-30, at the conclusion of the Zonal tournaments and the period that eligible federations have been given to submit their nominations.
The list is headed once again by world number one Magnus Carlsen. Despite being a firm supporter of knock-out tournaments, a victory in the World Cup is one of the few titles still missing from Magnus’ impressive track record, and this is probably a strong incentive for the former World Champion. His best result so far was in Sochi 2021, where he impressed the fans with some spectacular games (like his two victories over Fedoseev), but he was knocked out in the semifinals by Jan-Krzysztof Duda, winner of the event.
The second seed will be no other than the runner-up in the two last World Championship matches and twice winner of the Candidates Tournament, Ian Nepomniachtchi. “Nepo” could only reach the fourth round in his last participation, in Khanty-Mansiysk 2019, where he was knocked out by Yu Yangyi, and decided to skip Sochi 2021 in order to focus on his preparation for the match in Dubai.
Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri, Wesley So, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave are next on the list, followed by the two local stars Teimour Radjabov and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Radjabov won the World Cup in his last participation, Khanty-Mansiysk 2019. With the extra motivation of playing on home turf, he will surely be a very serious contender for the title.
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The tenth seed is 17-year-old D Gukesh of India, who leads the pack of up-and-coming young prodigies, in which we also find Nodirbek Abdusattorov (18 years old, 14th in the starting list), R Praggnanandhaa (17 years old, 25th seed), and Vincent Keymer (18 years old, 26th).
The top-seeded in the Women’s World Cup will be Koneru Humpy of India. Despite losing some rating points during the past year, Koneru is still the number two player in the world rankings, only behind the semi-retired Hou Yifan and just one point ahead of the reigning World Champion Ju Wenjun.
The participation of Ju Wenjun in the Women’s World Cup will be one of the highlights of the competition. It wasn’t clear if she would accept the challenge, and she is set to defend her title in the weeks before the World Cup, from July 5-25, against her countrywoman Lei Tingjie. It remains to be seen if Ju will arrive in Baku as the reigning World Champion or right after being dethroned, but either way and despite the foreseeable tiredness after the match, she will surely be one of the main contenders for victory.
Aleksandra Goryachkina, Kateryna Lagno, and the defending Women’s World Cup Champion, Alexandra Kosteniuk, complete the top- five seeds for the event. They are followed by Tan Zhongyi, Mariya Muzychuk, Harika Dronavalli, Nana Dzagnidze, and Anna Muzychuk. The highest-rated local player will be 22-year-old Gunay Mammadzada (pictured below).
The World Cup is one of FIDE’s flagship competitions, and in recent editions, it has clearly become one of the most followed events in the chess calendar. This reflects FIDE’s efforts to expand the competition, increasing the variety of qualification paths and the number of represented countries (estimated at 50 for the 2023 edition) while drastically decreasing the number of wild cards.
With 206 players in the open section, plus 103 in the Women’s competition, this event has seen its combined prize pool boosted to a whopping USD 2.5 million, the single largest one at any chess event in the world.
For many players, the World Cup is the first and only opportunity to enter the race for the World Championship crown since the three top finishers in the event will advance to the next stage: the super exclusive Candidates Tournament. This means one more spot than in the previous edition, Sochi 2021, where only the finalists would qualify: in Baku, the winner of the match for 3rd/4th place will also get the coveted invitation for the Candidates, which adds some extra excitement to this already thrilling competition.
Lists of players confirmed as of June 12, 2023:
FIDE World Cup 2023: Information for players
Dear players,
Please find below important and useful information related to the event.
Airport
Once you collect your luggage at Baku airport, please approach the volunteers at the FIDE World Cup information desk – they will accompany you to your vehicle. Please note that transfers from the airport will be provided only to those participants who stay in the official hotels.
Registration
Registration of the participants of the FIDE World Cup and the FIDE Women’s World Cup is done via the registration system: worldcup.fide.com/registration. Registration deadline is June 30, 12 p.m. Lausanne time.
Venue
The venue for the event will be the Baku Marriott Hotel Boulevard (Address: Khagani Rustamov Street, 4C Khatai District, Baku 1010, Azerbaijan)
Transfers
The following free-of-charge transportation will be provided to those participants who stay in the official hotels of the FIDE World Cup and the FIDE Women’s World Cup:
- upon arrival: from Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD) to the hotel of stay
- July 29: to/from the opening ceremony and the technical meeting
- on playing days: to the playing venue
Accommodation
Accommodation costs for players staying at Official Hotels MIGHT be paid to hotels by the Organizing Committee and deducted from the players’ prize money OR PAID by the participants directly to the hotel.
All extra costs (room service, early check-in/late check-out, mini bar, laundry etc.) shall be settled with hotels by the players during check-out. In accordance with legislation of Azerbaijan, all payments to the hotels shall be made in Azerbaijan Manat (all major payment cards are accepted).
The Organizing Committee secured a limited number of rooms at discount prices at the following official hotels in Baku for accommodation of players during the FIDE World Cup.
Note: *VAT (18%) and 1.3 AZN municipality taxes are included
The hotel rates include all applicable taxes and charges, including Municipality Tax 1.3 AZN (approximately equal to USD 0.77 per person per night). The mentioned hotel rates are approximate, as they may vary slightly due to currency fluctuations.
Early accommodation
Boulevard Marriott Hotel
Kindly note that check-in time is 15:00. Early check-in is available between 7:00 and 11:00 and costs 50% of the room rate. Early check-in after 11:00 can be granted complimentary upon availability.
Park Inn/Radisson
Kindly note that check-in time is 12:00. Early check-in is available between 10:00 and 12:00 and costs 50% of the room rate.
Ibis Hotel
Kindly note that check-in time is 15:00. Early check-in is available between 8:00 and 14:00 and requires 50% room rate application.
Visas
Citizens of Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Türkiye and Qatar do not need visas to enter Azerbaijan.
Citizens of 93 countries are eligible for E-visas to Azerbaijan: https://evisa.gov.az/en/countries
If your country is among them, you can apply to obtain your e-visa here: https://evisa.gov.az/en/
If you are neither a citizen of the country with a visa-free regime for visiting Azerbaijan nor eligible for an E-visa, you will be contacted by the organizer upon submitting your registration form and providing a copy of the passport (JPEG or PDF format).
Communication with players
А special communication channel will be created in the Telegram app during the World Cup (organizational announcements only).
Players will be added there a few days before the start of the tournament. Only Organizers will have the option of sending messages there. Please make sure in advance that this mobile app is installed on your device and your account is connected to the telephone number provided to organizers.
You can also reach the organizing committee of the FIDE World Cup and FIDE Women’s World Cup via the official mailbox worldcup@fide.com.
Opening Ceremony & Technical Meeting
The opening ceremony and technical meeting will take place on July 29. Transfers to/from both events will be provided from all official hotels of the FIDE World Cup and the FIDE Women’s World Cup.
We wish you a safe flight and look forward to seeing you soon in Baku!
