The 2025 FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship, held in Doha, showcased intense competition among the world's top chess players in a 13-round Swiss system format with a time control of 15 minutes plus 10
seconds increment. Norwegian Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen clinched his sixth World Rapid title, solidifying his dominance in faster time controls, while Aleksandra Goryachkina from the FIDE federation captured her inaugural women's crown after a tense blitz playoff.
The event, part of a larger chess festival including the upcoming Blitz Championships, drew 247 participants in the open section and a strong field in the women's category. Players from Russia and Belarus competed under the FIDE flag due to ongoing international restrictions. Tie-breaks were determined by the Buchholz system, Sonneborn-Berger score, and average opponent rating, with playoffs for shared first place.
Open Section Results
Magnus Carlsen dominated the field, finishing with an unbeaten score of 10.5 out of 13, a full point ahead of his closest rivals. His path included three consecutive wins on the final day against Alexey Sarana, Hans Niemann, and Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, followed by a draw with Anish Giri to seal the victory. This marks Carlsen's 19th overall world championship across classical, rapid, and blitz formats. Vladislav Artemiev took silver via tie-breaks, while Arjun Erigaisi earned bronze.
| Rank | Player | Federation | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magnus Carlsen (GM) | NOR | 10.5 |
| 2 | Vladislav Artemiev (GM) | FID | 9.5 |
| 3 | Arjun Erigaisi (GM) | IND | 9.5 |
| 4 | Hans Moke Niemann (GM) | USA | 9.5 |
| 5 | Leinier Dominguez Perez (GM) | USA | 9.5 |
| 6 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (GM) | FRA | 9 |
| 7 | Javokhir Sindarov (GM) | UZB | 9 |
| 8 | Wesley So (GM) | USA | 9 |
| 9 | Anish Giri (GM) | NED | 9 |
| 10 | Andrey Esipenko (GM) | FID | 9 |
Women's Section Results
The women's title came down to a blitz playoff after Zhu Jiner, Aleksandra Goryachkina, and Humpy Koneru all finished with 8.5/11. Per regulations, only the top two by tie-breaks, Zhu and Goryachkina, advanced to the playoff, where Goryachkina prevailed 1.5-0.5 (winning the first game and drawing the second). This was Goryachkina's first World Rapid title, while Zhu, the 2024 champion, settled for silver, and defending champion Koneru took bronze.
| Rank | Player | Federation | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jiner Zhu (GM) | CHN | 8.5 |
| 2 | Aleksandra Goryachkina (GM) | FID | 8.5 |
| 3 | Humpy Koneru (GM) | IND | 8.5 |
| 4 | Shri B Savitha (IM) | IND | 8 |
| 5 | Rameshbabu Vaishali (GM) | IND | 8 |
| 6 | Ekaterina Atalik (IM) | TUR | 8 |
| 7 | Tingjie Lei (GM) | CHN | 7.5 |
| 8 | Deshmukh Divya (IM) | IND | 7.5 |
| 9 | Kateryna Lagno (GM) | FID | 7.5 |
| 10 | Zhongyi Tan (GM) | CHN | 7.5 |
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