FIDE World Cup 2021: all the information

The 2021 FIDE World Cup start on July 12 at 5 a.m. Pacific / 2 p.m. Central Europe in Sochi, Russia. It marks the return of chess across the board globally after the COVID-19 pandemic forced many sporting events to be canceled. Elite players from around the world will compete for part of the Prize fund of $ 1,892,500 and two places in the 2022 Candidates Tournament.

For the first time in history, FIDE will also host the Women’s World Cup. The event will feature 103 of the top female players competing for a Prize fund of $ 676,250.

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Broadcast

You can follow all the action from the World Cup by visiting our Events page. You can also watch the live broadcast of the event on Chess.com/TV or on our Twitch and YouTube channels. MI Daniel Rensch, GM Daniel Naroditsky and five-time GM World Champion Viswanathan Anand are among the hosts who will provide expert commentary during the event.

Schedule

The 2021 FIDE World Cup will run from July 12 to August 8, while the 2021 FIDE Women’s World Cup will run from July 12 to August 4. Below is the detailed schedule of events:

The 2021 FIDE Women’s World Cup will take place on the same days as the open event. The women’s event is one round less and will end on August 3.

Location

The 2021 FIDE World Cup and Women’s World Cup will take place in Sochi, Russia, where the 2014 Carlsen-Anand World Championship was held. There are three venues for the event:

Galaxy Entertainment and Recreation Complex

Gazprom mountain station

Krasnaya Polyana

Format

• The FIDE World Cup is an eight-round knockout tournament;
• Players are matched against each other in two-game matches, one game with each color.
• The field of players will be determined at a later date.

Format calendar:

• Round 1: The opening round consists of 78 matches (156 players, seeded 51 to 206, according to the FIDE ranking), the winners moving on to the next round;
• Pairings follow standard knockout bracket principles (e.g. # 51 plays # 206, # 52 plays # 205, etc.)
• Round 2: 64 matches (the 50 best rated players join the 78 winners of round 1 to complete the field of 128 players)

Format calendar (continued):

• Round 3: 32 games;
• Round 4: 16 games;
• Round 5: 8 games;
• Round 6: 4 games;
• Round 7: 2 games;
• Day 8: 1 match.

A consolation match will take place to determine the third place winner.

Time control

• 90 minutes for the first 40 strokes;
• 30 minutes are added to the clock on the 40th move;
• Increment 30 seconds per move from the first move.

tie-breaks

tiebreaker 1

• If the score of a match is tied after the two classic games, a quick tiebreaker is played;
• The players draw for the colors;
• The time control is 25 minutes + 10 seconds increment per move.

tiebreaker 2

• If the score of a match is tied after the first quick tie-breaker, a second quick tie-breaker game is played;
• The players draw again for the colors;
• The time control is 10 minutes + 10 seconds increment per move.

tiebreaker 3

• If the score of a match is tied after the second quick tiebreaker, a blitz tiebreaker is played;
• The players draw again for the colors;
• The time control is 5 minutes + 3 seconds increment per move.

final tiebreaker

• If a match’s score is still tied after the final blitz tiebreaker, only one Sudden Death Armageddon game is played;
• The player who wins a toss can choose his color;
• The player with the white pieces receives 5 minutes; the player with the black pieces gets 4 minutes and draws the odds;
• A 2 second increment per move is added after move 60;
• In the event of a tie, the player with the black pieces is declared the winner of the match.

General tie-breaking rules

Players cannot take any tie-breakers by mutual agreement before Black’s 30th move. A referee must provide stroke records if requested by a player. A claim for a draw before Black’s 30th move is only allowed through the referee in the event of a triple repetition.

Players

206 players will take part in the 2021 FIDE World Cup and 103 players will take part in the 2021 FIDE Women’s World Cup. You can find the list of confirmed players and the pairings on the FIDE World Cup website.

Price

FIDE World Cup 2021

The prize pool of $ 1,892,500 will be distributed according to the table below, the amounts for rounds 1 to 6 referring to the cash prizes received by the eliminated players (before 20% deducted by FIDE):

Players who reach first and second places in the 2021 FIDE World Cup will have a place in the 2022 Candidates Tournament.

FIDE Women’s World Cup 2021

The prize pool of $ 676,250 will be distributed according to the table below, the amounts for rounds 1 to 5 referring to the cash prizes received by the eliminated players (before 20% deducted by FIDE):

Regulations

You can find the official rules for the 2021 FIDE World Cup event here and the 2021 FIDE Women’s World Cup here.