Panjim: The brand new trophy of the FIDE World Chess Cup being held right here was on Friday christened because the Viswanathan Anand trophy, in honour of the five-time world champion Indian legend.

The trophy was unveiled throughout a vibrant opening ceremony which was attended by Union Sports activities Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and FIDE chief Arkady Dvorkovich.

“Extraordinarily proud and delighted to announce the Viswanathan Anand Cup, the FIDE World Cup (Open) Winner’s Operating Trophy, instituted in honour of the King of Chess and India’s first Grandmaster, Shri Viswanathan Anand,” All India Chess Federation (AICF) President Nitin Narang stated.

“This operating trophy stands as an emblem of the nice strides of Indian chess and the exceptional achievements and legacy of @vishy64theking, destined to be cherished and extolled for hundreds of years and passing by generations of chess prodigies.

“Majestic, magnificent and deeply symbolic in design, it contains a peacock (Nationwide Hen of India) in a frozen dancing kind a imaginative and prescient so fascinating that it rekindles the timeless appeal of the sport,” he wrote on ‘X’.

World Ladies Chess Cup title holder Divya Deshmukh made the draw of heaps. All odd numbers in spherical 1 will play the black items.

The USD 2 million prize cash event will function 206 gamers from 80 nations in eight knockout rounds of classical video games. The FIDE World Cup 2025 will award three spots to the Candidates 2026 — the gateway to the subsequent World Championship match.

The World Cup will likely be an eight-round, single-elimination knockout occasion, the place every match consists of two classical video games performed underneath commonplace time controls. If the rating is tied after these, the gamers return on the third day for a collection of speedy and blitz tie-breaks to resolve who advances.

The highest 50 seeds — comprising most of the world’s highest-rated grandmasters — obtain byes into the second spherical, whereas the remaining 156 opponents start their campaigns on November 1.