D Gukesh will hope for an encore as he takes on a strong field, minus the top-three ranked players in the world, at the FIDE World Cup, that gets underway here on Saturday.

With Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, and the American duo of Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana not competing, R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi are the other two big names who will try and make a mark in the prestigious tournament, which offers three qualification spots for the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament — the gateway to the World Championship match later next year.