Chennai, July 15:
The FIDE Council has approved a series of significant changes to the format of the 2027 FIDE World Cup and the 2027 FIDE Women’s World Cup aimed at making the competitions more inclusive, expanded participation, improve the experience for players, reduce the overall duration of the events, and ensure that World Cups remain one of the flagship competitions in the World Championship cycle.
Since adopting the knockout format in 2005, the FIDE World Cups have become one of the most prestigious events on the international calendar. Over the past two decades, the tournaments have expanded considerably, growing from 128 to 206 players in the Open and from 64 to 103 players in the Women’s event.
At the same time, the expansion has presented new challenges. By 2025, the Open World Cup had reached 27 days in duration, making it increasingly difficult to fit into the international chess calendar, FIDE said on Tuesday.
Following recommendations from the Global Strategy Commission, the FIDE Council accepted a new two-stage format. Beginning in 2027, both World Cups will be played over 19 days and will consist of two distinct stages.
The Stage 1 is Swiss qualification. The opening stage will consist of Swiss-system tournaments played with a Fast Classical time control of 45 minutes plus a 30-second increment per move.
The Open World Cup will feature four Swiss pools, while the Women’s World Cup will be divided into two Swiss pools. Each Swiss tournament will be played over nine rounds across five days, with the pools balanced to ensure comparable playing strength. The leading players from each pool will advance to the knockout stage.
The Open World Cup will have top four players from each of the four pools (16 players total) and the Women’s World Cup would feature top eight players from each of the two pools (16 players total) in the knockouts.
The Stage 2 is Knockout finals. The second stage will retain the traditional knockout. The Round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, and final will be played using the existing World Cup format and classical time controls. A rest day will separate the Swiss and knockout stages, with two additional rest days scheduled during the knockout phase.