# World Rapid Chess Championship
The World Rapid Chess Championship is the annual world championship of rapid chess, a form of the game in which each player must complete all moves in more than 10 but less than 60 minutes, organized by the [International Chess Federation](https://www.edgepedia.org/international-chess-federation) (FIDE), which owns the title of World Rapid Chess Champion.[1](https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/e012023) • [2](https://old.fide.com/FIDE/handbook/Regulations_World_Rapid_2012.pdf) It is held alongside the World Blitz Championship as a year-end event, and Magnus Carlsen of Norway is its most successful player, with six open titles.[3](https://worldrapidandblitz2025.fide.com/carlsen-and-goryachkina-take-world-rapid-titles-in-doha/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Governing body | FIDE, which holds all rights to the organization of the championship and the champion's title[2](https://old.fide.com/FIDE/handbook/Regulations_World_Rapid_2012.pdf) |
| Time control | 15 minutes for the whole game per player, plus a 10-second increment per move from move one[4](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jun/19/world-rapid-and-blitz-championships-in-hong-kong-highlights-chess-boom-in-asia) |
| Format (2025) | 13-round Swiss system in the Open section, 11 rounds in the Women's tournament[5](https://www.fide.com/fide-world-rapid-blitz-championships-2025-100-days-to-go/) |
| Prize fund | Over €1,000,000 across the 2025 rapid and blitz events in Doha[6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX-KVQ9LxzE) |
| Most titles (open) | Magnus Carlsen, six World Rapid Championships, most recently in Doha 2025 with 10.5/13[3](https://worldrapidandblitz2025.fide.com/carlsen-and-goryachkina-take-world-rapid-titles-in-doha/) |
| 2025 women's champion | Aleksandra Goryachkina[3](https://worldrapidandblitz2025.fide.com/carlsen-and-goryachkina-take-world-rapid-titles-in-doha/) |
| 2025 venue and dates | Sports and Events Complex, Qatar University, Doha, 26 to 30 December 2025[6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX-KVQ9LxzE) |
## Format and rules
**Time control.** The championship is played at 15 minutes for the whole game with a 10-second increment per move starting from move one, a setting written as 15'+10". These time controls fall squarely within FIDE's rapid category, defined as games in which each player has a set allotment exceeding 10 minutes yet under 60 minutes to finish every move.[4](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jun/19/world-rapid-and-blitz-championships-in-hong-kong-highlights-chess-boom-in-asia) • [1](https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/e012023)
**Tournament system.** Recent editions use the Swiss system, in which players with similar scores meet each round, with 13 rounds in the Open section and 11 in the Women's tournament.[5](https://www.fide.com/fide-world-rapid-blitz-championships-2025-100-days-to-go) The 2012 edition used a different structure: a 16-player final tournament played as a single round robin over three days, fed by a semi-final Swiss tournament open to all players rated at least 2300.[2](https://old.fide.com/FIDE/handbook/Regulations_World_Rapid_2012.pdf) National champions in any format are eligible to take part in the current event.[5](https://www.fide.com/fide-world-rapid-blitz-championships-2025-100-days-to-go/)
**Prizes.** The 2012 regulations set a prize fund of US$200,000, with $40,000 for first place, and required the organizer to award gold, silver, and bronze medals to the top three.[2](https://old.fide.com/FIDE/handbook/Regulations_World_Rapid_2012.pdf) For 2025, FIDE announced format enhancements and a one million euro prize fund for the combined World Rapid and Blitz Championships, and the 2025 Doha event carried a total prize fund of over €1,000,000.[7](https://www.fide.com/changes-to-the-world-rapid-blitz-format-and-a-1m-euro-prize-fund/) • [6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX-KVQ9LxzE)
## History
FIDE decided to hold a world championship for rapid chess and organized the event in an unusual spot for a world final: Mexico.[8](https://worldrapidandblitz2019.fide.com/history/2) An early FIDE edition under the modern regulations took place in Astana, Kazakhstan, from 6 to 8 July 2012, with the rapid games played at 15 minutes plus a 10-second increment and chief arbiter IA Andrzej Filipowicz.[9](https://www.fide.com/images/stories/NEWS_2012/Congress/Annex_48_-_Chief_Arbiters_and_Appeals_Committee_Chairman_reports_on_World_Rapid_and_Blitz_Championships_2012.pdf) The 2012 regulations made the championship an annual event under FIDE's aegis.[2](https://old.fide.com/FIDE/handbook/Regulations_World_Rapid_2012.pdf)
The championship settled into a late-December slot alongside the World Blitz Championship. The 2023 World Rapid took place from 26 to 28 December,[10](https://www.europechess.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/ECU-Magazine_December-2022.pdf) and the 2025 edition ran from 26 to 30 December in Doha, Qatar, which returned as host after nine years.[6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX-KVQ9LxzE)
## Notable editions
**Riyadh 2017.** At the 2017 World Rapid Championship in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Ian Nepomniachtchi finished in a tie for first place with GMs Vladimir Fedoseev and [Viswanathan Anand](https://www.edgepedia.org/viswanathan-anand) but missed out on the playoff; Anand won the playoff and the title. The tiebreak procedure became a subject of debate in the chess world.[11](https://www.chess.com/news/view/world-rapid-chess-championship-tiebreak-controversy)
**2021.** Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan won the 2021 title at 17 years old. Before the last round, four players stood on 9 points: World Champion Magnus Carlsen, Nepomniachtchi, who finished as runner-up, [Fabiano Caruana](https://www.edgepedia.org/fabiano-caruana), the 2018 World Chess runner-up, and Abdusattorov. Beating the World Chess Champion and the rapid runner-up in one tournament is something no 17-year-old had previously done in rapid or regular chess.[12](https://www.chessclub.com/news-and-articles/gm-ronen-har-zvi-commentates-and-analyzes-games-of-the-world-rapid-champion)
**New York 2024.** The December 2024 championship in New York City was marked by a dress-code dispute. Carlsen wore jeans and a sportcoat to the rapid event, an official fined him $200 and asked him to change pants, and he refused and was not paired for the ninth-round game. FIDE said longstanding rules prohibit jeans at these tournaments; [Ian Nepomniachtchi](https://www.edgepedia.org/ian-nepomniachtchi) was fined the same day for wearing sports shoes and continued playing. Carlsen called the punishment "unbelievably harsh," said it had become a matter of principle, and quit both the rapid and blitz championships.[13](https://apnews.com/article/b96b1ad1b8eafe69f914f7a8eccd9e0b) The same New York event was where grandmaster [Daniel Naroditsky](https://www.edgepedia.org/daniel-naroditsky), facing public cheating allegations he denied, competed while looking to clear his name and finished ninth in the blitz portion.[14](https://time.com/7340438/daniel-naroditsky-death-chess-grandmaster-cheating-allegations/)
**Doha 2025.** In Doha 2025, Carlsen won his sixth World Rapid Championship with 10.5 points out of 13, a full point clear of the rest of the field, while Aleksandra Goryachkina won the women's crown.[3](https://worldrapidandblitz2025.fide.com/carlsen-and-goryachkina-take-world-rapid-titles-in-doha/)
## Records and standing
Carlsen's six rapid titles sit alongside nine World Blitz Championship titles and five wins in the Classical World Championship.[15](https://thechessmind.substack.com/p/magnus-carlsen-wins-two-more-world) He has said he prefers rapid events to the months of preparation a classical title match against a single rival requires.[16](https://elpais.com/deportes/2024-12-25/mundial-de-rapidas-de-ajedrez-carlsen-desea-confirmar-quien-es-el-jefe.html) FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich has described the World Rapid & Blitz as traditionally one of FIDE's most closely followed events globally, playing a key role in promoting chess to a broader audience.[5](https://www.fide.com/fide-world-rapid-blitz-championships-2025-100-days-to-go/) A separate FIDE World Team Rapid and Blitz Championship, first staged in [Düsseldorf](https://www.edgepedia.org/dusseldorf) and later Astana, London, and Hong Kong, mixes teams of elite professionals with recreational players at the same 15'+10" rapid time control.[17](https://www.fide.com/regulations-published-for-the-2026-fide-world-team-rapid-and-blitz-chess-championships-in-hong-kong/)
## References
1. [FIDE Laws of Chess, effective 1 January 2023, FIDE Handbook](https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/e012023)
2. [Regulations for the World Rapid Chess Championship 2012, FIDE](https://old.fide.com/FIDE/handbook/Regulations_World_Rapid_2012.pdf)
3. [Carlsen and Goryachkina take World Rapid titles in Doha, FIDE World Rapid and Blitz 2025](https://worldrapidandblitz2025.fide.com/carlsen-and-goryachkina-take-world-rapid-titles-in-doha/)
4. [World rapid and blitz championships in Hong Kong highlights chess boom in Asia, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jun/19/world-rapid-and-blitz-championships-in-hong-kong-highlights-chess-boom-in-asia)
5. [FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships 2025: 100 days to go, FIDE](https://www.fide.com/fide-world-rapid-blitz-championships-2025-100-days-to-go/)
6. [FIDE World Rapid Championship 2025, Day 1 Open broadcast, FIDE chess YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX-KVQ9LxzE)
7. [Changes to the World Rapid & Blitz format and a 1M euro prize fund, FIDE](https://www.fide.com/changes-to-the-world-rapid-blitz-format-and-a-1m-euro-prize-fund/)
8. [History: From Mazatlan to Luzhniki, FIDE World Rapid and Blitz 2019](https://worldrapidandblitz2019.fide.com/history/2)
9. [Report 2012 World Rapid & Blitz Championships, Chief Arbiter's report, FIDE](https://www.fide.com/images/stories/NEWS_2012/Congress/Annex_48_-_Chief_Arbiters_and_Appeals_Committee_Chairman_reports_on_World_Rapid_and_Blitz_Championships_2012.pdf)
10. [ECU Magazine, December 2022, European Chess Union](https://www.europechess.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/ECU-Magazine_December-2022.pdf)
11. [Chess World Divided Over World Rapid Tiebreak Controversy, Chess.com](https://www.chess.com/news/view/world-rapid-chess-championship-tiebreak-controversy)
12. [GM Ronen Har-Zvi commentates and analyzes games of the World Rapid championship 2021, ICC Chess Club](https://www.chessclub.com/news-and-articles/gm-ronen-har-zvi-commentates-and-analyzes-games-of-the-world-rapid-champion)
13. [Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen returns to a tournament after a dispute over jeans is resolved, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/b96b1ad1b8eafe69f914f7a8eccd9e0b)
14. [Daniel Naroditsky's Death Exposes an Existential Threat to Chess, Time](https://time.com/7340438/daniel-naroditsky-death-chess-grandmaster-cheating-allegations/)
15. [Magnus Carlsen Wins Two More World Championships, The Chess Mind](https://thechessmind.substack.com/p/magnus-carlsen-wins-two-more-world)
16. [Mundial de Rápidas de ajedrez: Carlsen desea confirmar quién es el jefe, El País](https://elpais.com/deportes/2024-12-25/mundial-de-rapidas-de-ajedrez-carlsen-desea-confirmar-quien-es-el-jefe.html)
17. [Regulations published for the 2026 FIDE World Team Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in Hong Kong, FIDE](https://www.fide.com/regulations-published-for-the-2026-fide-world-team-rapid-and-blitz-chess-championships-in-hong-kong/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Board, card, and puzzle games › Chess › Chess competitions › World Cup and world rapid and blitz championships*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license