World Rapid and Blitz Chess 2025 with Magnus Carlsen

The 2025 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships will be held in Doha, Qatar, from 25 to 31 December 2025, at the Sports and Events Complex of Qatar University. The Rapid segment runs from December 26–28, and the Blitz segment from December 29–30. The total prize fund is €1,000,000.

As of this moment, the participation of Magnus Carlsen is more confirmed than not. For NKR Magnus Carlsen stated, “You will find out eventually. It’s been a long process. I’ve had good conversations with the organizer [from the World Rapid and Blitz in Qatar], so we’ll see what happens.”

During the 2024 FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championship in New York, Carlsen showed up in jeans, a violation of FIDE’s dress code, and was fined US$200. He refused to change when asked, calling it a matter of principle, and was excluded from a round. After public backlash, FIDE relaxed its dress code to allow “elegant deviations,” including certain jeans, and Carlsen returned for the Blitz portion. Carlsen later auctioned off the very jeans for charity, raising tens of thousands of dollars for Big Brothers Big Sisters.

World Rapid and Blitz Chess 2025 in Qatar

This marks the second time Qatar will host the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships, having previously done so in 2016. In the Open section, Vassily Ivanchuk clinched the Rapid title, while Sergey Karjakin secured the Blitz title. In the Women’s section, Anna Muzychuk delivered an outstanding performance and achieved victories in both the Women’s Rapid and Blitz categories.

Qatar’s commitment to chess is further exemplified by its experience in organizing major chess events, most notably the Qatar Masters Open in 2014, 2015, 2023, and 2024. The nation’s dedication to attracting top-tier talent makes it a fitting venue for the upcoming championships.

According to the decision of the FIDE Council, rating fees for the 2025 FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships as well as all other rated rapid and blitz tournaments held in 2025-2026 are waived for all the participants.