The FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships 2025 is one of the highly anticipated team chess tournaments as it marks the return of the chess icon Anand Vishwanathan. Not only that, the tournament also brings together top players from emerging talents to experienced players from around the globe.
It’s organised by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and combines the exciting formats of rapid and blitz in a team competition. So let’s take a look at the details.
FIDE World Rapid And Blitz Team Championships 2025 Key Details
The FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships 2025 start on 10 June and will end on 16 June 2025. It’s being held in London, United Kingdom. The event will span for seven days and features a massive prize pool, which is €500,000, with €310,000 reserved for the Rapid tournament while €190,000 is for the blitz competition.
FIDE World Rapid And Blitz Team Championships 2025 Criteria
This is the third edition of the Championship and features 54 teams, each of them with nine players. The team requires at least one female player and one amateur player (with an Elo rating of less than 2000), alongside professional grandmasters.
A total of 116 grandmasters will take part in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships 2025. Teams can be made of club members, players from different federations, or any chess player who meets the criteria.
The standout team is the WR Chess team, returning as the two-time defending champion. The roster includes Jan Gustafsson, Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Wesley So, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and former women’s world champions Alexandra Kosteniuk and Hou Yifan.
FIDE World Rapid And Blitz Team Championships 2025 Schedule
| Date | Event | Details |
| June 10 | Arrival of Teams | Teams arrive in London |
| June 11 | Opening Ceremony & Rapid Rounds 1-4 | Opening ceremony followed by first 4 Rapid rounds |
| June 12 | Rapid Rounds 5-8 | Four more rounds of Rapid chess |
| June 13 | Rapid Rounds 9-12 | Final four rounds of Rapid chess |
| June 14 | Blitz Pool Stage (Round Robin) | Teams play round-robin Blitz matches in pools |
| June 15 | Blitz Knockout Stage | Top teams compete in Blitz knockout rounds |
| June 16 | Departure of Teams | Teams depart |
FIDE World Rapid And Blitz Team Championships 2025 Streaming Details
The event will be widely covered online, with live broadcasts available on platforms like Lichess and ChessBase India, which is also sending a team to cover the event on the ground.
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