With Arjun Erigaisi as their star player and a strong Indian presence, Team MGD1 wins FIDE World Rapid Team Championship 2025
Team MGD1, with Indian Grandmasters Arjun Erigaisi as their star player and N Srinath as the non-playing captain, won the FIDE World Rapid Team Championship 2025 in London on Saturday. A Pune-based chess management firm, Team MGD1 became the first Indian team to achieve this feat in the tournament's brief three-year history.
Team MGD1 also featured the most Indian players in their squad. Alongside Erigaisi and Srinath, the team included Harikrishna Pentala, Pranav V, Leon Luke Mendonca, Atharvaa Tayade, and Hariharan Raghavan. Spanish GM David Anton Guijarro and Greek IM Stavroula Tsolakidou completed the roster as overseas players.
In the 12-round Swiss-format tournament with a time control of 15 minutes plus a 10-second increment from move one, Team MGD1 won 10 of 12 rounds, with one loss and one draw, finishing with 21 points. They closely edged out Hexamind Chess Team, which finished with 20 points and featured two Indian players — Vidit Gujrathi and Divya Deshmukh.
The title was secured in a close final round against Malcolm's Mates, with crucial wins from Erigaisi, Pranav, and Tayade. Five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand's Freedom team took third place with 17 match points. Another Indian participant, Nihal Sarin, represented Ashdod Elit Chess Club alongside strong players like Pavel Eljanov and Benjamin Gledura.
Anand hailed the format of the event. 'What is commendable is that so many teams composed of fans and club players chose to participate, giving it a slight festival feel,' the five-time World Champion and India's greatest ever chess player told The Indian Express from London.
With this victory in the tournament's third edition, Team MGD1 matched the title wins of inaugural champions WR Chess and 2024 winners Al-Ain ACMG UAE. WR Chess Team were the top seeds with big names like Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Hou Yifan, but they finished fifth.
The FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships 2025 is an event open to any team around the globe that meets the official requirements. According to FIDE, the teams can be made of club members, members of different federations or any other chess players. This structure has been designed to ensure an inclusive, level playing field where each team must have at least six and no more than nine players. The teams also have to include at least one female player and one recreational player who is defined as 'one who never achieved FIDE Standard, Rapid or Blitz Rating of 2000 (or an equivalent national rating, as determined by FIDE's Global Strategy Commission) Elo points (or unrated) up to and including the March 2025 rating lists.'
Over 110 GMs competed across 52 teams in the rapid event. Some teams — like Noval Group Kyrgyzstan, Oxbridge, and Berlin Lasker Legends — had no grandmasters. Others, such as The London Legends and Rey Ahogado, featured no titled players.
'It's a very attractive format with all the expected excitement, and I believe this event will grow in strength in coming years,' Anand added.
For FIDE, the international chess body, the event holds great significance. President Arkady Dvorkovich stated: 'This pivotal event distinguishes itself as the largest team tournament featuring both professional and non-professional players. The immense value of events like the WRB Teams lies in providing unique opportunities for recreational players and new chess talents to play alongside — and directly against — stars in genuine tournament settings. We're already seeing significant interest from potential hosts for next year's edition, and we're optimistic about this event's future and similar competitions globally.'
Srinath, after the win, said: 'I'm absolutely elated. This is definitely one of the most special wins of my career. It's a fun event that has already fit into the cycle by its third year. While more relaxed than classical events, it remains intense nevertheless.'
The total prize fund is €500,000, with €310,000 allocated to the rapid event and €190,000 to the blitz event.
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