First ever World Cup for youngsters

The FIDE World Cup is one of the most exciting event of the Calendar year - almost all of the World's top players take part in exciting knockout matches. Earlier this year, FIDE announced a brand new tournament - FIDE World Cup for youngsters, U-8, U-10 and U-12 age categories! The inaugural edition of this tournament will take place in Batumi, Georgia from 23rd-29th June. Players from 49 different countries are taking part across 6 different categories! There are 48 players taking part in each category.

There have been several top events like World Cup and Olympiad held in Batumi before! Here are some of the beautiful locations highlighted in the official brochure.

22nd June is the arrival day for the players and officials. The opening ceremony and first round will take place on 23rd June! The first 7 days there will be 7 rounds of the swiss tournament, followed by a rest day with several fun activities planned like a chess composition tournament, blitz tournament for delegation coaches, and much more. After the rest day, the knockout portion will commence with 2 rounds of classical chess followed by tiebreaks if needed.

Check out the full tournament schedule. | Photo: Tournament Brochure

System of play

The tournament will be held in three age groups – under 8, under 10 and under 12 – in two categories, Open and Girls, with 48 participants in each. The competition will unfold in two stages, starting with a seven-round Swiss System featuring two groups of 24 players each. The subsequent stage will witness players in the same position from each group facing off against one another, elevating the intensity and excitement of the matches. If the match between the players is tied, there will be a 2-game Rapid tiebreak match to decide the winner. If the Rapid match is tied, sudden death blitz games till someone wins will decide the Champion.

This mixture of swiss format followed by the clash of winners from both group to determine the Champion is a fresh one!

Prizes

The event will feature special prizes for top achievers across six playing categories. Each category's top three players will receive awards, including Cups, Medals, Diplomas, and gadgets such as MacBook Air 2022, iPhone 15, or an iPad (depending on placement).

In addition to these grand prizes, the first three winners of each age category and gender will receive free full board accommodation for the World Cadets Championship later in the same year, while every participant will be awarded a certificate acknowledging their participation.

Grand prizes are up for grabs for the podium finishers in Batumi! Check out the complete prize structure.

The top seeds and top Indian players in each category

Under-8 Open

Luca Protopopescu (1896, FRA) is the top seed. | Photo: Europe Echecs

Sarbartho Mani (1733, IND) is the top Indian seed and 3rd seed overall. | Photo: Shahid Ahmed
No. NameFideIDFEDRtg
1
Protopopescu, Luca651088894FRA1896
2
Li, Aiden Linyuan39917487USA1853
3
ACMMani, Sarbartho366112022IND1733
4
Ulan, Rizat13794795KAZ1733
5
Divith, Reddy Adulla33493030IND1722
6
Mccallum, Elliot2645718CAN1718
7
Alloussi, Arian34637788GER1700
8
Stanisic, Lukas79316433CRO1677
9
Szumiec, Jan41815661POL1668
10
Xu, Zhihan (Samuel)2654261CAN1662
11
Charyyev, Charyhekim14012499TKM1605
12
Shahmammadli, Ramiz1349392SUI1602
13
Elemes, Nurmukhamed447007079KAZ1570
14
Su, Joey3265250AUS1568
15
Mukhiddinov, Mirzokhid14230313UZB1567
16
Sattwik, Swain88108368IND1567
17
Hriday, Garg33427852IND1554
18
ACMKavish, Palaniappan K33483221IND1551
19
Lin, Zhean8649740CHN1522
20
Mankovich, Yoav2862352ISR1522

Check out the full player list

Under-8 girls

Stella Xin (1812, USA) is the top seed of this section. (Photo unavailable)

Harshika M (1438, IND) is the top Indian seed, and 14th seed overall. | Photo: Shahid Ahmed
No. NameFideIDFEDRtg
1
Xin, Stella39912639USA1812
2
Classen, Meara34626956GER1645
3
Xia, Elizabeth39929400USA1635
4
Yan, Rayna30983258USA1601
5
Nguyen, Sarah39926729USA1587
6
Bos, Nina91111277POL1538
7
Balakanova, Azaliya13790161KAZ1533
8
Marchis, Carla-Ioana42217431ROU1526
9
Nagnibedovsky, Elizabeth2643200CAN1511
10
Kinzyabulatova, Reana55788025FID1504
11
Hemrayeva, Aylar14008602TKM1501
12
Ranasinghe, O R Hasini Anuththara29996376SRI1497
13
Guo, Anne Xuduo4319672NZL1472
14
Harshika, M48716880IND1438
15
Bissaliyeva, Alisha447019026KAZ1437
16
Baghramyan, Sofia13322516ARM1426
17
Ankita, Raj33494851IND1423
18
Narayani, Umesh Marathe33450390IND1416
19
Bozorova, Farzonabonu14229757UZB1408
20
Limari, Sopia13637126GEO1403

Check the full players list

Under-10 Open

Reyaansh Chakrabarty (2185, AUS) is the top seed. | Photo: Norths Chess Club

Safin Safarullakhan (1879, IND) is the top Indian seed, 8th seed overall. | Photo: Himank Ghosh
No. NameFideIDFEDRtg
1
Chakrabarty, Reyaansh3256944AUS2185
2
Shogdzhiev, Roman55653537FID2060
3
Xia, Joshua30987830USA2060
4
Shangin, Lev55681085USA2031
5
Ashwath, Kaushik33387230SGP2029
6
Zhauynbay, Alimzhan13782657KAZ1903
7
Yu, Zechen8649138CHN1889
8
AFMSafin, Safarullakhan33379475IND1879
9
Guntaka, Aayansh30993890USA1872
10
Ling, Chenxuan30983118USA1868
11
Modith, Aaroh Mutyalapati25147870CAN1866
12
Aryan, Mehta33329664IND1863
13
Bolashakov, Nurali13792105KAZ1843
14
Rahul, Ramakrishnan25146270IND1838
15
Azimov, Yasin13453424AZE1833
16
Faramarzi Garousi, Maartia36771856IRI1820
17
Vyom, Malhotra33383561IND1803
18
Zabelin, Platon55722849FID1799
19
AIMMuhammad, Shayan Noushad Ibrahim48701300IND1785
20
Mrozowski, Nikodem41801733POL1776

Check the full players list

Under-10 Girls

Romi Milner (1866, USA) is the top seed. | Photo: David Llada/Sunway Chess Festival

Divi Bijesh (1639, IND) is the top Indian seed, and 12th seed overall. | Photo: Shahid Ahmed
No. NameFideIDFEDRtg
1
WCMMilner, Romi30997690USA1866
2
Yunker, Alisa Genrietta55724353FID1735
3
Zhou, Elizabeth39921760USA1733
4
Rzadkowska, Lila21083070POL1696
5
Ahmadli, Mehriban13451502AZE1686
6
Tselmuun, Ider4923707MGL1681
7
Anistoroaei, Maria42214181ROU1680
8
Norkulova, Malika14220954UZB1669
9
Zhang, Jianning8655103CHN1665
10
Shurghulaia, Nino13641867GEO1655
11
Yi, Ruiyu8649120CHN1647
12
Divi, Bijesh33479011IND1639
13
Filippova, Milana447008709KAZ1633
14
Zhumambayeva, Aliya13780980KAZ1625
15
Sholpanbek, Zhansaya13775111KAZ1621
16
Bayramova, Aya14007258TKM1615
17
Nguyen Doan, Bao Anh Angelina41801202POL1611
18
Samhita, Pungavanam25985000IND1596
19
Ambartsumyan, Angelina Vlad55723977FID1594
20
Blakhina, Viktoryia13532839FID1564

Check the full players list

Under-12 Open

Ethan Guo (2136, USA) is the top seed. | Photo: Caroline King

Syed Abdul Khader (2050, IND) is the top Indian seed, and 4th seed overall. | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy
No. NameFideIDFEDRtg
1
CMGuo, Ethan30976359USA2136
2
Martinez Flores, Matias5174309MEX2080
3
Kakavand, Ramtin32790597IRI2059
4
AIMSyed, Abdul Khader33399263IND2050
5
Wang, Ted30990459USA2034
6
Diaz Guerrero, Jesus Daniel3979288MEX2032
7
Tatvidze, Davit13628470GEO2000
8
Obidov, Biloliddin14225271UZB1998
9
Yang, Maxwell30965268USA1979
10
Pirtac, Alexandru13912143DEN1977
11
Gabadadze, Gabriel13628364GEO1975
12
Siddhanth, Poonja25181823IND1958
13
Bulgak, Damir13528882FID1931
14
Minkhajdarov, Ruslan34397833FID1921
15
Zhang, Haoxuan(Zj)8643172CHN1907
16
Kleschevnikov, Arseny55677282FID1895
17
Li, Yiheng6006760HKG1886
18
Garakhanov, Shamsi13449214AZE1884
19
Qu, Haoming8639850CHN1877
20
Yang, Zilong8641528CHN1874

Check the full players list

Under-12 Girls

Laurie Qiu (Left) (2068, USA) is the top seed. | Photo: Mechanic’s Institute Chess Room Newsletter

Pratitee Bordoloi (1796, IND) is the top Indian seed, and 7th seed overall. | Photo: Shahid Ahmed
No. NameFideIDFEDRtg
1
WCMQiu, Laurie30998190USA2068
2
Quickpen, Deborah Ebimobo-Ere8511616NGR2048
3
Gunawardhana, Devindya Oshini29941482SRI1980
4
Lu, Xiahan (Luna)4317076NZL1859
5
Kaminska, Zuzanna21067210POL1848
6
Sreekarthika, Velmurugan25996045SGP1838
7
Pratitee, Bordoloi33399506IND1796
8
Diaskyzy, Daliya13744950KAZ1793
9
Venskaya, Nika13523503FID1774
10
Bassari, Senem Gul26363704TUR1768
11
Li, Sophie30981107USA1764
12
Xu, Luna Yuexiu4317360NZL1761
13
Wu, Yiting8639906CHN1758
14
Xue, Tianhao8626480CHN1754
15
Bakhshizada, Asnad13446037AZE1748
16
Chichinadze, Anastasia13634810GEO1724
17
Xikmatkhonova, Mokhinur14218704UZB1706
18
Tereshchenko, Eliza34389890FID1694
19
Amanzhol, Khanzada13743171KAZ1685
20
Zavivaeva, Kristina34351914FID1666

Check the full players list

Aditya Sur Roy from ChessBase India will be covering the event live from Batumi, Georgia!

Important links

Official website

Tournament regulations