The 10th edition of the FIDE World Cup starts on July 30th in Baku
Author: Maria Fragaki
The 10th edition of the FIDE World Cup, held every two years, will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 30 July to 24 August 2023, giving the chance to the top3 seeds to move to the Candidates Tournament.
This year’s FIDE World Cup will witness a participation of 206 players in the open section and 103 players in the Women’s competition, making it the largest combined prize pool in the chess world, totalling a staggering $2.5 million.
For many players, the World Cup presents a unique opportunity to contend for the World Championship crown. The top three finishers in the event will advance to the super exclusive Candidates Tournament, which is one spot more than the previous edition in Sochi 2021. In Baku, not only the finalists but also the winner of the match for 3rd/4th place will secure the coveted invitation to the Candidates, adding even more excitement to this thrilling competition.
Among the rating favorites in the open event are top-ranked Magnus Carlsen (Norway, 2835), Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 2787; received a wild card), Fabiano Caruana (USA, 2782), Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE, 2779), Anish Giri (Netherlands, 2775), Wesley So (USA, 2769), Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan, 2747), Gukesh D (India, 2744), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan, 2742), and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France, 2739), along with numerous other esteemed chess players from around the globe.
Magnus Carlsen will have a keen eye on this event, as the current top-ranked player in the world. Despite his dominance in chess, he has yet to secure a victory in the World Cup, making it an event of particular interest for him. In the previous tournament, Carlsen finished third, a result that surely fuels his determination to claim the title this time. Remarkably, he has never reached the final of the World Cup, a surprising fact considering his consistent success in every other aspect of chess.
In the FIDE Women’s World Cup, prominent players include reigning champion Ju Wenjun (China, 2564), 2020 Challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina (FIDE, 2557), Humpy Koneru (India, 2553), Kateryna Lagno (FIDE, 2552), Alexandra Kosteniuk (Switzerland, 2523), Tan Zhongyi (China, 2523), Nana Dzagnidze (Georgia, 2511), and the Ukrainian players Mariya and Anna Muzychuk (2511 and 2504, respectively), among other notable chess stars.
Source: FIDE World Cup official website
