Overview
- FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky said the vacancy arose from a last-minute dropout after Ju Wenjun and Hou Yifan declined earlier invitations.
- The presidential wildcards went to Divya Deshmukh, Kirill Alekseenko, Andy Woodward, Abhimanyu Mishra, Volodar Murzin, and Faustino Oro.
- The World Cup runs October 31 to November 27 in Goa with 206 players in a knockout that awards three spots in the 2026 Candidates Tournament.
- The participant roster is still being updated, with Alireza Firouzja not entered and a correction adding Hans Moke Niemann while removing Leinier Dominguez.
- Deshmukh, 19, recently earned the Grandmaster title after winning the Women’s World Cup and scored 5/11 in the Open Grand Swiss.