London Chess Classic

Participants: 10 players.

System: Round-robin.

Time Control (Classical): 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 30 minutes for the remainder of the game, with a 30-second increment per move from move 1.

Venue & schedule details: The elite rounds are from 26 Nov to 5 Dec at Emirates Stadium.

The 2025 XTX Markets London Chess Classic will take place from 26 November to 7 December 2025 in London, England, at two venues: the Emirates Stadium and the Novotel London West. Ten world-class grandmasters (an all-play-all elite field) will compete in the main "Elite" event, alongside a chess festival featuring rapid, blitz, U-2100 round robins and other side-events.

The tournament marks one of the final chances for Alireza Firouzja and Nodirbek Abdusattorov as they try to catch Praggnanandhaa in the 2025 FIDE Circuit race. Praggnanandhaa himself is playing in the FIDE Open section under the Elite section to try and secure certain confirmation of his Candidates spot.