Overview
- The championships were formally launched at a December 25 press conference in Doha, with the first games set for the Qatar University Sports and Events Complex on December 26.
- Magnus Carlsen attended with his family, said he is "here to win," and enters as the top seed in both Open Rapid (2824) and Open Blitz (2881).
- The drawing of lots set colors for top boards: Carlsen has white in Rapid and black in Blitz, while Ju Wenjun drew black in Rapid and white in Blitz.
- Rapid runs December 26–28 with a 13‑round Swiss in the Open (15+10) and 11 rounds in the Women’s section, and Blitz follows December 29–30 with a Swiss qualifier and 4‑player knockout finals.
- Organisers reported 251 players in Open Rapid, 254 in Open Blitz, and about 142 in the Women’s events, with live coverage via Chessdom and FIDE’s YouTube channel in India.