World Rapid and Blitz 2025 kicks off on the 26th December 2025 in Qatar
It is almost that time of year for yet another World Chess Championship, which determines who will become the new World Chess Champion in Blitz and Rapid. There will be appearances from all the best in the world, and I am talking about top elite players from around the globe. There is something spectacular about this event for me because it differs from classical chess, where players spend hours making their moves.
Another thing that could make this event exciting for you to keep an eye out for is the fact that these grandmasters will be in human form. That is, you are going to see them rapidly and blitz in person or at least over your streaming. Unlike when you only watch their games online. This will put them in human form, where you would expect that they are not above some human errors or falling victim to poor decision-making due to human emotions. ♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟
In rapid and blitz, it is about speed, management of time, and above all, good moves. This is the event where the most unique blunders can happen due to time pressure, as it has occurred in the past. The most popular one was Ivanchuk against the late Naroditsky. That was in the last Rapid and Blitz event. It was challenging, truly, but memorable to watch. In this event, you do not have to worry about any mouse slip or poor internet connection since you will be playing live on the board. You get to solve it on the board by yourself to see find out what will be the best answer or the right move. I am expecting a lot of appearances from the talented young chess prodigies like Prag, Abdulsatorov, Arjun, and many more. But the player I anticipated to see play this event is Hikaru Nakamura. Sadly, he is not playing.
He is the player with the highest blitz rating on chess.com and even more talented over the board. I would have loved to see how he would be teaching some lessons to the young ones on the board, making it an exciting tournament. Nonetheless, there will be other chess grandmasters, OGs at the tournament, like Magnus Carlsen and Ian, the joint world blitz champions.
Next up, the unpredictability. Every year, there is always a new player on the chess block that goes on a nice run during the event,t which you did not see coming. This unpredictability you never see coming is how I got to know certain chess grandmasters like Danil Dubov when he won the rapid championship in 2018, and the same for Abdulsatorov and Murzin, 2024 champions.
If there is something I am certain is that this event will bring out the emotions of the players, especially when they are losing or when they look. It can be frustrating but exciting to the spectators because it reminds them that these grandmasters are also humans. Nothing will prepare you for a tournament like playing an actual tournament. The challenges and difficulties that come with it, and I cannot begin to imagine the pressure that comes with playing at such a high level. Consistency is what I will be looking for in Magnus Carlsen. Will he be able to reclaim his once-upon-a-time title of world rapid and blitz champion? We will never know until December 26th, 2025, when the event starts.
I am @samostically, a chess player and writer. I love to share the experience I have gained from different battles over the 64 squares and the knowledgeable insights from books I have read. But most importantly, I am a Midnight Owl and I founded the community Midnight Letters.
