Gukesh and Sindarov Set for Youngest World Championship Match in History
The Salesforce FIDE World Championship Match 2026 is set to take place from November 22nd to December 13th, 2026, at the Fondation Martin Bodmer in Cologny, Geneva, Switzerland. This will be the first time a World Championship match has been held in Switzerland since 2004.
The reigning champion Grandmaster Gukesh D, aged 20 when the match begins, will face off against challenger Grandmaster Javokhir Sindarov, also 20 years old at the start of the contest. This makes it the youngest World Championship contest in history.
Gukesh won his title in Singapore in 2024, defeating Ding Liren 7.5-6.5 after winning the fourteenth and final classical game. Sindarov qualified for the match by winning the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament in Cyprus with a round to spare and an unbeaten score of 10/14.
The match will consist of up to 14 classical games, with the first player to reach 7.5 points declared the winner. The time control is 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment added from move 41.