8/24/2023 – Magnus Carlsen has won it all. The world number one beat Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu in tiebreaks to win the FIDE World Cup for the first time in his career. After his victory, the Norwegian noted that he will not attempt to recover the World Championship title unless there is a major change in the format, especially regarding the shortening of time controls. Meanwhile, third seed Fabiano Caruana beat Nijat Abasov in the match for third place to secure a spot in the 2024 Candidates Tournament. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

8/24/2023 – Former World Champion Magnus Carlsen has accomplished a significant milestone in his illustrious chess career by capturing his inaugural World Cup title, the only tournament that was missing from his immense collection of victories. All three top-placed players have qualified for the 2024 Candidates tournament, which is due to take place next April in Canada. Full report to follow.

8/24/2023 – Both the final and the match for third place will be decided in tiebreaks at the FIDE World Cup in Baku. While Magnus Carlsen played it safe with white against Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu to secure a second draw in the final, Fabiano Caruana bounced back from a disastrous showing on Tuesday to keep his chances of reaching the podium alive. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

8/23/2023 – The first game of the FIDE World Cup final ended drawn, as Praggnanandhaa could not get much of an advantage with the white pieces against Magnus Carlsen. In the match for third place, on the other hand, underdog Nijat Abasov managed to upset Fabiano Caruana, after the latter blundered in a sharp middlegame emerging from a Catalan Opening. | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova

8/22/2023 – Aleksandra Goryachkina clinched gold at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Baku after beating Nurgyul Salimova in rapid tiebreaks. The Russian grandmaster entered the tournament as the second seed, and needed to show great technique to take down the over-performing Bulgarian underdog. Anna Muzychuk also reached the podium, as she beat Tan Zhongyi in the match for third place. Thanks to this win, Muzychuk gained a spot in the 2024 Women’s Candidates Tournament. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

8/22/2023 – Praggnanandhaa reached the final of the FIDE World Cup after knocking out Fabiano Caruana in tiebreaks. An incredibly level-headed teenager, Pragg thus confirmed his qualification to the Candidates Tournament. In the final, the Indian prodigy is set to face Magnus Carlsen, who got the better of local hero Nijat Abasov by a 1½-½ score in the classical phase of their semifinal match. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

8/20/2023 – Magnus Carlsen took the lead in his semifinal match against Nijat Abasov after winning an absolutely thrilling game with the white pieces. In the other semi, Praggnanandhaa was under pressure throughout the game but managed to hold Fabiano Caruana to a draw. Meanwhile, the first game of the final in the women’s section finished drawn, unlike what happened in the match for third place, where Anna Muzychuk showed great technique to beat Tan Zhongyi with white. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

8/18/2023 – Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu beat his good friend Arjun Erigaisi in a series of tense rapid and blitz tiebreaks to reach the semifinals of the FIDE World Cup. The 18-year-old all but secured a spot in the next edition of the Candidates Tournament. Meanwhile, in the women’s category, Nurgyul Salimova upset Anna Muzychuk to reach the final of the event. Salimova thus qualified to the Women’s Candidates, while Muzychuk will face Tan Zhongyi for a spot in the all-important event. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

8/17/2023 – Nijat Abasov, the 69th seed in the open section of the FIDE World Cup, has all but secured a spot in the next edition of the Candidates Tournament, as he beat Vidit Gujrathi with white to knock him out of the event. Since Magnus Carlsen, his next opponent, also reached the semifinals and is very likely to skip the Candidates, the Azerbaijani will not even need to finish among the top-3 to reach the 8-player World Championship qualifier. Fabiano Caruana also advanced to the semifinals, while Praggnanandhaa bounced back in his match against Arjun Erigaisi. Among the women, Aleksandra Goryachkina drew Tan Zhongyi and made it through to the final. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

8/16/2023 – Magnus Carlsen and Arjun Erigaisi both won with black to take a 1-point lead in their quarterfinal matches against Dommaraju Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa, respectively. Leinier Dominguez got winning chances but failed to find precise continuations against Fabiano Caruana, while Vidit Gujrathi and Nijat Abasov signed a 109-move draw on Tuesday. In the women’s section, Aleksandra Goryachkina defeated Tan Zhongyi, also with black. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

8/15/2023 – Four out of the eight players who reached the quarterfinals in the open section of the FIDE World Cup are Indian, as Vidit Gujrathi joined Praggnanandhaa, Arjun and Gukesh by beating Ian Nepomniachtchi in the tiebreaks of the round-of-16. In the women’s section, Aleksandra Goryachkina, Anna Muzychuk and Nurgyul Salimova advanced to the semifinals. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

8/14/2023 – Praggnanandhaa and Fabiano Caruana scored wins on Sunday to knock out Ferenc Berkes and Jan-Krzysztof Duda respectively. While Pragg is set to face Arjun Erigaisi in an all-Indian quarterfinal, Caruana will play Leinier Dominguez in a duel of US grandmasters. Gukesh and Magnus Carlsen also secured their spots in the next stage when they will face each other. In the women’s section, three out of four quarterinal matchups will be decided in tiebreaks, as only Tan Zhongyi has secured a spot in the semifinals. | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

8/13/2023 – Five out of eight games ended decisively at the start of the round-of-16 in the open section of the World Cup. Rating favourites Magnus Carlsen, Dommaraju Gukesh, Leinier Dominguez and Arjun Erigaisi all won, while Nijat Abasov was the one rating underdog to grab a full point. In the quarterfinals of the women’s section, Tan Zhongyi and Nurgyul Salimova obtained wins on Saturday. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

8/11/2023 – One day after turning 18 years old, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu got to knock Hikaru Nakamura out of the FIDE World Cup. Other players who advanced to the round-of-16 by winning Friday’s tiebreakers were Magnus Carlsen, Ian Nepomniachtchi and fan favourite Vasyl Ivanchuk. In the women’s section, Elisabeth Paehtz left world champion Ju Wenjun out of contention. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

8/10/2023 – Six players have already reached the round-of-16 in the open section of the FIDE World Cup, including Fabiano Caruana, who beat Ray Robson, and Alexey Sarana, who knocked out sixth seed Wesley So. The remaining ten spots will be decided in Friday’s tiebreaks, with Magnus Carlsen reaching that stage after bouncing back in his match against Vincent Keymer. In the women’s section, three players secured their spots in quarterfinals: Aleksandra Goryachkina, Tan Zhongyi and Polina Shuvalova. | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

8/10/2023 – One of the most exciting events in the chess calendar, the FIDE World Cup, is taking place in Baku. Players try to show their best as they fight for spots in the next edition of the Candidates Tournaments, both in the open and in the women’s section. Robert Ris, a successful coach and a fantastic analyst, has been publishing videos with highlights from the much-anticipated tournament. Not to be missed!

8/10/2023 – Vincent Keymer beat Magnus Carlsen for the first time in his career and now only needs a draw on Thursday to knock the world number one out of the World Cup. The other big upset of the day saw Alexey Sarana brilliantly defeating Wesley So with the black pieces. In the women’s section, 7 out of 8 games finished drawn. Bella Khotenashvili scored the one win of the day, as she beat third seed Humpy Koneru. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

8/8/2023 – Two players from the top 10 rating-wise in Baku were eliminated in the tiebreaks of round 3 at the open section of the World Cup. Nijat Abasov knocked out Anish Giri, while Jaime Santos left Teimour Radjabov out of contention. Meanwhile, the lowest-rated player still going is Turkish GM Vahap Sanal, who got the better of Anton Korobov on Monday. In the women’s section, the one upset of the day saw Teodora Injac from Serbia knocking out Alexandra Kosteniuk. | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova

8/7/2023 – Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura and Dommaraju Gukesh were among the players who advanced to round 4 after two classical games at the FIDE World Cup in Baku. The biggest upset of the round was achieved by Javokhir Sindarov, who knocked out Maxime Vachier-Lagrave by winning with black on Sunday. In the women’s section, world champion Ju Wenjun was inches away from being eliminated — however, she not only survived, but ended up winning against Ulviyya Fataliyeva. | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova

8/6/2023 – Magnus Carlsen, Leinier Dominguez and Parham Maghsoodloo were the three 2700+ players who kicked off with a win in round 3 of the FIDE World Cup. Meanwhile, Daniele Vocaturo and Ivan Schitco upset higher-rated opponents, and Peter Svidler obtained a good-looking, 27-move win over Jorden van Foreest. Among the women, there were no big upsets, as the Muzychuk sisters had a good day — Mariya won and Anna escaped with a draw. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

8/5/2023 – Top grandmasters continue to be left out of contention at the FIDE World Cup in Baku. In the open, Alexander Grischuk and David Anton were knocked out by Bardiya Daneshvar and Abdulla Gadimbayli in Friday’s tiebreaks. Among the women, Mary Ann Gomes defeated Kateryna Lagno, while Klaudia Kulon got the better of Nana Dzagnidze. | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage

8/4/2023 – Shocking results were seen on the fifth day of action at the FIDE World Cup in Baku. In the open, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov were knocked out by players in the 2500-2600 rating band — Vahap Sanal and Tin Jingyao (pictured) respectively — while sixth seed Wesley So barely escaped with a draw to take his match against Emre Can to tiebreaks. In the women’s section, Yan Tianqi and Maili-Jade Ouellet surprisingly won on demand to even the score against Alexandra Kosteniuk and Irina Krush. | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova

8/3/2023 – Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Dommaraju Gukesh were the highest-rated players to start their participation at the FIDE World Cup with victories. Gukesh’s win prompted him to join the world’s top 10 in the live ratings list, while Praggnanandhaa and Wei Yi scored brilliant wins. In the women’s section, more than half the games ended decisively, as most favourites failed to get more than half points in the first confrontations of round 2. | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

8/2/2023 – Round 1 is over at the World Cup in Baku. A total of 33 matches (24 in the open and 9 in the women’s section) were decided in rapid and blitz tiebreaks. Now that the first round has been completed, all the players who received byes — the rating favourites — will join the fray on Wednesday. Magnus Carlsen will face Levan Pantsulaia (Georgia, 2564), while Ju Wenjun will face Eva Repkova (Slovakia, 2312). | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage