The next World Chess Championship is Gukesh D against Javokhir Sindarov, with the first game on November 24, 2026, in Cologny, Geneva. We have not found a sportsbook price on the match that we can check, so this page names none.
Gukesh, of India, won the title in December 2024 and makes his first defense here. Sindarov, of Uzbekistan, earned the challenge by winning the 2026 Candidates Tournament. FIDE says both will be 20 when the match begins, which makes it the youngest World Championship match in history. For how futures and match bets are priced, see our sportsbook reviews.
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When and where
FIDE’s regulations for the match put it at the Fondation Martin Bodmer, a library and museum in Cologny, Geneva, Switzerland. The program opens on November 22 with a media day and the opening ceremony. The first classical game is on November 24 and the last scheduled one on December 11. If tiebreaks are needed, they are on December 12.
FIDE first announced Geneva with dates of November 25 to December 15. Its later regulations, which set the schedule above, replace those dates.
How the match is decided
The match is at most 14 classical games, and the first player to 7.5 points wins the title. Each game allows 120 minutes for the first 40 moves and 30 minutes for the rest, with 30 seconds added per move from move 41. No draw offers are allowed before Black’s 40th move.
If it is 7-7 after the classical games, the tiebreak starts with four games at 15 minutes plus 10 seconds a move. Still level, the players go to two games at 10 minutes plus five seconds, then two at three minutes plus two seconds, then single three-minute games until one is won.
The prize fund is $2.5 million. Each player earns $200,000 per game won, and the rest is split equally.
The two players
Gukesh became the 18th World Champion in Singapore in December 2024, beating Ding Liren 7.5-6.5 by winning the 14th and final classical game. He was 18, the youngest undisputed champion in the game’s history. His road there included the 2024 Candidates Tournament and individual and team gold at the 2024 Chess Olympiad.
Sindarov won the 2026 Candidates in Cyprus with a round to spare, unbeaten, on 10 points out of 14. Less than five months earlier he had become the youngest winner of the FIDE World Cup, in Goa. He is the first player from Uzbekistan to qualify for a match for the undisputed title.
What to look for in a price
If a book posts the match, the plain market is the winner. Before backing either player, turn the price into a chance: -200 implies 66.7%, +150 implies 40%. A bet is worth making only when you rate the player’s chance higher than the price does, and we make no pick on this match.
One thing from the last match is worth knowing before any price goes up. The 2024 match was level going into its 14th and final classical game, and Gukesh won it by one point. A close match can go all the way to December 11, or to the tiebreaks on the 12th.
This page is refreshed when a price is posted and again after the match. For handicappers who sell picks on events like this, see our handicapper site reviews.