BELGRADE, October 1. /TASS/. Russian Chess Grandmaster Alexey Grebnev has qualified for the 2025 FIDE World Cup, which will be held in India later this fall.

In a qualifying match against French Chess Grandmaster Marc’Andria Maurizzi, the Russian played black pieces in the first round, with the match ending in a draw. In the second round, Grebnev played white pieces and won the game.

According to earlier reports, eight Russians had already qualified for the tournament that would play host to 206 of the world's best chess players. They are Ian Nepomniachtchi, Daniil Dubov, Andrey Yesipenko, Vladislav Artemyev, Yevgeny Naer, Ivan Zemlyansky, Sergey Lobanov and Volodar Murzin.

Grebnev is 19 years old, becoming a chess grandmaster in 2024.

The 2025 FIDE World Cup will be held in the Indian city of Goa from October 30 to November 27.

The FIDE World Cup event is held every two years. Norway’s Magnus Carlsen is the reigning champion at the previous event held in 2023 in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku.