The FIDE World Cups promise a record prize fund in Baku ©FIDE

Five-times International Chess Federation (FIDE) champion and world number one Magnus Carlsen is set to begin his bid for his first FIDE World Cup this week here in Baku.

It is a title that has so far eluded him despite an illustrious career in which he has dominated the sport for more than a decade.

Norwegian Grandmaster Carlsen is expected to be one of the star attractions along with China’s women’s world champion Ju Wenjun, who is due to compete in the FIDE Women's World Cup held at the same time.

The tournaments boast an unprecedented prize fund of $2.5 million (£1.94 million/€2.26 million) and are set to be contested at the Marriott Boulevard Hotel on the shores of the Caspian Sea.

The top three finishers in both competitions will advance to the FIDE World Chess Championship Candidates Tournament, scheduled for 2024 in Toronto, Canada.

The arrival of FIDE women's world champion Ju Wenjun is keenly awaited in Baku ©ITG
The arrival of FIDE women's world champion Ju Wenjun is keenly awaited in Baku ©ITG

At the 2021 FIDE World Cup in Sochi, Carlsen lost to eventual winner Jan-Krzysztof Duda of Poland in the semi-finals.

It remains Carlsen's best showing in the World Cup, a competition introduced to the circuit in 2005.

Other leading seeds in a field of 206 include 2023 FIDE Open World Championship runner-up Ian Nepomniatchi of Russia, who is competing as a neutral due to the country's invasion of Ukraine.

Men's world champion Ding Liren is one of the few big name absentees after indicating that he will represent China at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in September. 

Host nation Azerbaijan have high hopes of Baku born Teimour Radjabov, a World Cup winner in 2019, when the tournament was held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

Radjabov defeated fellow countryman, Grandmaster and former world speed chess champion Shakhriyar Mamedyarov en route to victory that year.

The top players have received byes and enter the competition in the second round of play.

The schedule features an extra round compared with the previous tournament in 2021.

The hall at the Marriott Boulevard Hotel in Baku is being made ready for the start of play on Sunday when 206 men and 103 women players take part in the FIDE World Cup and FIDE Women's World Cup ©ITG
The hall at the Marriott Boulevard Hotel in Baku is being made ready for the start of play on Sunday when 206 men and 103 women players take part in the FIDE World Cup and FIDE Women's World Cup ©ITG

The Women’s World Cup, introduced in 2021, has attracted 103 players this time.

FIDE world champion Ju is set to compete here in Baku, little more than a week after retaining her world title with victory over Lie Tingjie in Chongqing,

The inaugural winner was Russian born Alexandra Kosteniuk, who now competes under the Swiss flag and is currently ranked number seven in the world.

Play in both World Cups is set to begin on Sunday (July 29).

Each round consists of two game matches with a further day set aside for tie-breaks.

The Finals are scheduled to begin on August 22.