2021 FIDE World Cup: All The Information

GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda of Poland won the 2021 FIDE World Cup. He defeated GM Sergey Karjakin in the final by a score of 1½-½ after winning their second game.

That moment when, after @SergeyKaryakin, it's @MagnusCarlsen himself who congratulates you with winning the #FIDEWorldCup.

Bravo @GM_JKDuda!https://t.co/L0YWbeYgBR pic.twitter.com/oTSEmmhT0a

— ChesscomNews (@ChesscomNews) August 5, 2021

On the strength of their results in the World Cup, both Duda and Karjakin qualified for the 2022 Candidates Tournament, which will determine the next world championship challenger following this year's world championship.

Final | Results

Final | Games

GM Magnus Carlsen took third place over GM Vladimir Fedoseev with a 2-0 match victory.

3rd Place Match | Results

3rd Place Match | Games

Last Four Rounds | Bracket

GM Alexandra Kosteniuk was the winner of the Women's World Cup, 1½-½ in the final against GM Aleksandra Goryachkina. GM Tan Zhongyi won the third-place match in tiebreaks over GM Anna Muzychuk.

Women's World Cup Finals | Results

Women's Final | Games

Women's 3rd Place Match | Games

The 2021 FIDE World Cup started on July 12 in Sochi, Russia. It marked the return of over-the-board chess on a global scale after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of many sporting events. Elite players from all over the world competed for a part of the $1,892,500 prize fund and two spots in the 2022 Candidates Tournament.

For the first time in history, FIDE also hosted the Women's World Cup. The event featured 103 of the best female players competing for a $676,250 prize fund.

• Broadcast
• Schedule
• Location
• Format
• Players
• Prizes
• Regulations

Broadcast

You can keep up with all the World Cup action by going to our Events page. You can also watch the event's live broadcast on Chess.com/TV or on our Twitch and YouTube channels. GMs Daniel Naroditsky, Hou Yifan, Veselin Topalov, and five-time world champion GM Viswanathan Anand are among the hosts who will be providing expert commentary during the event.

Schedule

The 2021 FIDE World Cup ran from July 12 through August 8, while the 2021 FIDE Women's World Cup ran July 12 through August 4. Below you can see the detailed schedule for the events:

The 2021 FIDE Women's World Cup will happen on the same days as the open event. The Women's event has one less round and will end on August 3.

Location

The 2021 FIDE World Cup and Women's World Cup were played in Sochi, Russia, where the 2014 Carlsen-Anand World Championship took place. There were three venues for the event:

Galaxy Entertainment And Leisure Complex

Gazprom Mountain Resort

Krasnaya Polyana

Format

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

Format Schedule:

• Round 1: Opening round is 78 matches (156 players, seeds 51 through 206, as ranked by FIDE rating), with 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 top 50 rated players join the 78 winners of round 1 to complete the field of 128 players)

Format Schedule Continued:

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

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

Time Control

• 90 minutes for the first 40 moves;
• 30 minutes are added to the clock at the 40th move;
• 30 seconds increment per move starting from move one.

Tiebreaks

Tiebreaker 1

• If the score of a match is level after the two classical games, a rapid tiebreaker is played;
• Players draw for colors;
• The time control is 25 minutes + 10 seconds increment per move.

Tiebreaker 2

• If the score of a match is level after the first rapid tiebreaker, a second rapid tiebreak match is played;
• Players again draw for colors;
• The time control is 10 minutes + 10 seconds increment per move.

Tiebreaker 3

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

Final Tiebreaker

• If the score of a match is still level after the final blitz tiebreak, a single sudden-death armageddon game is played;
• The player who wins a drawing of lots may choose their color;
• The player with the white pieces receives 5 minutes; the player with the black pieces receives 4 minutes and draw odds;
• A 2-second increment per move is added after move 60;
• In case of a draw, the player with the black pieces is declared the winner of the match.

General Tiebreak Rules

Players cannot draw any tiebreak game by mutual agreement before Black's 30th move. An arbiter should provide the moves records if a player requests them. A claim for a draw before Black's 30th move is permitted only through the arbiter in case of threefold repetition.

Players

206 players participated in the 2021 FIDE World Cup and 103 players took 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.

Prizes

2021 FIDE World Cup

The prize fund of $1,892,500 was distributed according to the table below, with the amounts for rounds 1-6 referring to the prize money received by the eliminated players (before 20% deducted by FIDE):

The players who reach the first and second places in the 2021 FIDE World Cup received a spot in the 2022 Candidates Tournament. They ended up being GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda and GM Sergey Karjakin.

2021 FIDE Women's World Cup

The prize fund of $676,250 was distributed according to the table below, with the amounts for rounds 1-5 referring to the prize money received by the eliminated players (before 20% deducted by FIDE):

Regulations

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