Magnus Carlsen to stage rich online tournament

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  • Magnus Carlsen to stage rich online tournament

    Magnus Carlsen to stage rich online tournament

    April 2, 2020

    By Sean Ingle in The Guardian

    https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...ent-in-history

    Magnus Carlsen says he will stage the richest online tournament in history this month as part of plans to grow the royal game during a time when most sports are shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.

    Carlsen, the world’s No 1 player for a decade, said that seven other top players would join him in battling it out for a $250,000 (£200,000) prize fund in the two-week event, with the winner guaranteed $70,000.

    At the launch of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational, the Norwegian said bringing chess online with a fast-paced format would help to make the game more accessible to a wider audience at a time when the world is lacking competitive entertainment.

    “This is a historic moment for chess and, given that it’s possible to continue top professional play in an online environment, we have not only the opportunity but the responsibility to players and fans around the world who need a distraction and when no other live competitive sport is being played.”

    The tournament, which runs from 18 April until 2 May, will feature an all-play-all group stage, with each player facing one another in a mini-match of four games. The top four players in the round robin will then go through to the knockout stages.

    The Guardian understands that the world No 3 and No 4, Ding Liren and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, are on board while several other leading stars – including Fabiano Caruana, Carlsen’s opponent in the 2018 world championship match in London – have been approached. Players will get 15 minutes for each game – with an additional 10 seconds added after each move – and the matches will be shown online on the website Chess24.com, which is part owned by Carlsen, in nine languages.

    Under the rules, players must dress in business casual attire. A number of anti-cheating measures will also be employed, with players required to have cameras watching them to ensure they do not look at powerful chess engines, or get help from any other party. All games will also be reviewed by anti-cheating software.

  • #2
    Magnus Carlsen to stage rich online tournament

    April 2, 2020

    More details from chess24:

    The Magnus Carlsen Invitational

    The $250,000 event starts on April 18th and ends on May 3rd, with the following format:

    8 players first compete in a single round-robin over 7 rounds

    Each match features four 15+10 rapid games, where the winner gets 3 match points & the loser 0

    If the match ends 2:2 an Armageddon game (5 vs. 4 minutes) is played, with the winner getting 2 points and the loser 1

    The top four players after Round 7 enter the Final Four knockout - if match points are equal, game points are the first tiebreaker

    The semi-finals, 3rd place match and final use the same 4-game match system and decide the overall winner

    Every move will be broadcast live on chess24 with computer analysis and commentary in 9 languages. For Rounds 1-6 two matches will be played simultaneously, with each round played over two days, while for Round 7 all four matches will take place together. Players not involved on a particular day will at times join the commentary or play Banter Blitz against chess24 users, while we’ll also have player interviews after each day’s action.

    The tournament will be a great chance for new fans to get interested in chess, and to make their chess journey much easier the full premium version of the Magnus Trainer app (Android, iOS) will be available for free from now and during the tournament.

    The format with four rapid games in a day isn’t accidental, since Magnus is on record as wanting it to be used for the classical World Championship itself.

    Some very big names have already confirmed their participation, and we’ll keep you up-to-date as the line-up is finalized.

    https://chess24.com/en/read/news/mag...eid=80d0a80bfd

    Comment


    • #3
      Thanks Magnus for stepping forward. Is he the first World Champion who has heavily invested in chess?

      Comment


      • #4
        Magnus Carlsen to stage rich online tournament

        April 12, 2020

        More details from chess24:

        Magnus Carlsen will be joined by Fabiano Caruana, Ding Liren, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Anish Giri, Hikaru Nakamura and Alireza Firouzja when the Magnus Carlsen Invitational starts one week today on Saturday April 18th. We’re all set for 16 days of non-stop top-level action, with the players battling it out for a $250,000 prize fund, including a $70,000 top prize. We’ll have live commentary in 9 languages plus some very special events to look forward to in the week running up to the tournament.

        As you can see, it’s a stunning line-up, featuring both the world Top 5 and five of the eight players from the recent Candidates Tournament. There’s also blitz world no. 1 Hikaru Nakamura and arguably the hottest player in world chess right now, 16-year-old Alireza Firouzja. And, of course, we also have what the Candidates Tournament was missing, World Champion Magnus Carlsen!

        As previously announced, the tournament involves two stages: first an 8-player round-robin and then a Final Four knockout. The round-robin sees each player play each other in a 4-game rapid match with 15 minutes for all moves, plus a 10-second increment after each move. We’ll have two matches live at the same time each day, except for Round 7, when all 8 players play at the same time.

        For schedule, please see:

        https://chess24.com/en/read/news/mag...ne-up-revealed

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