Indian stars Arjun Erigaisi and world champion D. Gukesh will be the top two seeds for the fourth FIDE Grand Swiss chess tournament to be held at Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from September 3 to 16, where an enhanced prize purse and tickets to the prestigious Candidates tournament will be at stake.
As per regulations, the top two in both the Open and the Women’s competition will qualify for the Candidates 2026, which will decide the challenger for the World Championship.
The rule requiring players to have competed in 30-plus classical rated games between July 2024 and June 2025 has excluded high-profile names such as former world champions Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand.
Former world champion Ding Liren will not be participating in the event either.
Fabiano Caruana, who played in all three previous Grand Swiss tournaments, will be absent too, having already secured a spot in the Candidates by winning the 2024 FIDE Circuit.
R. Praggnanandhaa is seeded fourth, just behind Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Another star youngster, 22-year-old world number eight Alireza Firouzja, is ranked fifth.
The remainder of the top 10 in the Open section is made up of more seasoned Grandmasters — two-time World Championship challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi, Anish Giri, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Levon Aronian, and Vladimir Fedoseev.
Held every two years, the FIDE Grand Swiss is held in a classical 11-round Swiss system tournament. The 2025 edition will feature 172 players — 116 in the Open and 56 in the Women’s tournament.
India’s Vidit Gujrathi (Open) and R Vaishali (Women) had won the last edition of the tournament.
The Grand Swiss also features a significantly increased prize pool: USD 460,000 to USD 625,000 in the Open section and USD 140,000 to USD 230,000 in the Women’s section.
Among 116 players in the Open section, 101 have qualified by rating, with the remaining spots allocated to continental representatives, six FIDE wildcards and five are nominated from the local organiser.
Bolstering the young presence at the event are Hans Niemann (22), Vincent Keymer (20), Javokhir Sindarov (19), Nihal Sarin (20) and Awonder Liang (22), who are all among the top 20.
Former candidate for the title of world champion Boris Gelfand, as well as former women’s world championship challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina, will also play in the Open section after receiving wildcard invitations.
The Women’s tournament
In the Women’s Grand Swiss, 44 players have qualified by rating. Four additional players will join them from continental spots, four via FIDE wildcards, and another four as nominations from the local organiser.
Former world champion Tan Zhongyi is the top-rated participant in the, followed by seasoned elite world players Koneru Humpy, Anna Muzychuk and Kateryna Lagno.
Defending champion R Vaishali will be among the participants.
