OSLO: On May 31, the window for cities to bid for the upcoming World Championship will be closed. There are some suggestions that an Indian city is again in the running to bid for the event. And D Gukesh, the reigning champion, said that he wouldn't mind facing Javokhir Sindarov 'at home'.
“A World Championship match, if it’s in India, will be super cool,” Gukesh said at Norway Chess' pre-tournament press conference. “It will attract a lot of energy around it. I will be very happy to play a World Championship match in India.”
According to FIDE's bid document, the total duration of the event will be for 25 days to scheduled 'between November 23 and December 17'. When the Indian teen had qualified for his title match in 2024, two Indian cities — New Delhi and Chennai — had submitted separate bids to bring the match to India for the first time since 2013 but FIDE went with Singapore.
Playing a World Championship at home can give some natural advantages in a lot of sports but that may not necessarily be the case in chess. The spotlight is more, the pressure is amped up further but the Indian is one of those players who has enjoyed the challenge of playing at home.
At the Olympiad in 2022, he won individual gold from Board 1. At the Chennai Grand Masters event in Chennai in 2023, when he needed to win to qualify for the Candidates in 2024, he won that as well. The one reverse he has had, though, was at the World Cup in Goa in 2025.
Gukesh to feature at Olympiad
While the 19-year-old's schedule between now and the end of the season will be carefully managed to ensure he stays fresh, he will be playing for India at the Olympiad in Samarkhand in September.
While Uzbekistan has emerged as a prime destination for top-tier FIDE events, they may not bid for the title match because Sindarov had made his feelings clear after winning the Candidates. The Uzbek player, who is at Norway Chess to support Bibisara Assaubayeva, said he wants to play the match in a 'hot country'. In December, Uzbekistan typically sees temperatures in the single digits with snowfall a possibility in the night.