FIDE has announced the venue, format, schedule and prize money for the highly anticipated World Championship showdown between defending champion D Gukesh and challenger Javokhir Sindarov. The match will be a historic one, with both Gukesh and Sindarov set to be 20 years old when they sit across the board. It will therefore be the youngest World Championship match ever staged.
Gukesh became the youngest-ever world champion in 2024 when he defeated China’s Ding Liren to claim the crown. Sindarov, meanwhile, booked his place in the title match by winning the Candidates tournament earlier this year.
“A World Championship match is not like anything else in our sport,” said Viswanathan Anand, FIDE Interim President. “You sit across from the same opponent for three weeks with the world watching. I have played World Championship matches in some extraordinary cultural settings, including the Olympic Museum in Lausanne and the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn, and a setting like that gives the contest a character of its own. The Fondation Martin Bodmer belongs to that tradition and is a fitting venue for this match.”
With the match expected catch the imagination of the fans, here’s a complete guide for the World Championship match.
GUKESH VS SINDAROV: WHAT IS THE VENUE FOR THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP?
The World Championship clash will be held at the Fondation Martin Bodmer in Cologny, Geneva, Switzerland.
The Fondation Martin Bodmer is both a museum and a heritage library, housing an extensive collection of historical documents. Its collection features approximately 150,000 documents written in around 120 languages, making it one of the world’s most prestigious private collections.
GUKESH VS SINDAROV: WHEN DOES THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BEGIN?
The opening ceremony is scheduled for November 22, with the first classical game set to be played on November 24.
The final classical game is scheduled for December 11. Should the match remain undecided after the classical games, a tiebreak will take place on December 12.
GUKESH VS SINDAROV: FORMAT
The title clash can feature up to 14 classical games.
A victory is worth one point, while both players receive half a point in the event of a draw. The first player to accumulate 7.5 points will be crowned world champion.
If the players are level at 7-7 after all 14 classical games, the championship will be decided by tiebreaks.
GUKESH VS SINDAROV: WHAT ARE THE TIME CONTROLS?
Both players will receive two hours for their first 40 moves. They will then get an additional 30 minutes for the remainder of the game.
A 30-second increment will be added after every move from move 41 onwards.
Players will also face restrictions on offering a draw. A draw cannot be offered before Black completes the 40th move. Before that stage, a draw can only be claimed through the Chief Arbiter or Deputy Chief Arbiter in specific situations, including threefold repetition or stalemate.
GUKESH VS SINDAROV: FULL SCHEDULE
22 Nov — Media Day; Opening Ceremony
23 Nov — Media Day; Technical Meeting
24 Nov — Round 1
25 Nov — Round 2
26 Nov — Round 3
27 Nov — Free Day
28 Nov — Round 4
29 Nov — Round 5
30 Nov — Round 6
1 Dec — Free Day
2 Dec — Round 7
3 Dec — Round 8
4 Dec — Round 9
5 Dec — Free Day
6 Dec — Round 10
7 Dec — Round 11
8 Dec — Round 12
9 Dec — Free Day
10 Dec — Round 13
11 Dec — Round 14
12 Dec — Tie-break (if needed); Closing Ceremony
GUKESH VS SINDAROV: HOW MUCH IS THE PRIZE MONEY?
The World Championship match carries a total prize fund of USD 2.5 million.
For every game they win, a player will earn USD 200,000. After the match concludes, the remaining prize money will be split equally between Gukesh and Sindarov.
– Ends
