Chess
Grand Swiss 2025: Gukesh, reigning champions Vidit, Vaishali among 10 Indians in contention
The 2025 Grand Swiss will have Candidates spots on offer.
R Vaishali and Vidit Gujrathi after winning the 2023 Grand Swiss (Photo credit: FIDE/Twitter)
A total of ten Indians, including the world chess champion Gukesh Dommaraju, reigning champions Vidit Gujrathi and Vaishali Rameshbabu will be in action at the 2025 Grand Swiss in September later this year.
The FIDE announced a 172-player list – 116 in open and 56 in women's – for the prestigious event on Thursday.
While a total of six Indians will compete in the open section, four players from the country will be in action in the women's event.
The Indians in action besides include – Gukesh Dommaraju, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, Pentala Harikrishna, Nihal Sarin (all in open event), Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbabu, and Divya Deshmukh (all in the women's event).
The 2025 Grand Swiss will not only have a prize pool of $90,000 ($40,000 for women) but also offer two spots at the 2026 Candidates Tournament.
The winner of the 2026 Candidates will go up against the Gukesh in the World Championships battle next year.
The Grand Swiss holds a special place for Indian chess with Vidit and Vaishali, winning the open and women's event respectively in the previous edition back in 2023.
Both Vidit and Vaishali had qualified for the Candidates tournament for the first time in their career, thanks to their title win at the Grand Swiss held in Isle of Man.
The 2025 Grand Swiss will be an 11-round Swiss tournament. It will be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan from 3 to 16 September.
