Dubai: Magnus Carlsen and Vishwanathan Anand, the current and former world champions respectively, will be in action during the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship to be held at the Dubai Chess and Culture Club from June 15-21.
The competition is being held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council. A record 124 players from 46 countries will compete for the coveted title.
The championship marks the third edition of the World Rapid and Blitz Chess event organised under the Fide umbrella. The first tournament was held in 2012 in Astana, Kazakhstan and the second was in 2013 in Khanty Mansisk, Russia.
Anand, who had played in the Fide World Grand Prix in 2002 in Dubai, has told Gulf News previously that he enjoyed playing in the city. “I am happy to play in Dubai, especially due to the presence of a large Indian community. I have always felt very much at home when I played here,” he said.
The organising committee of the Fide World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championship announced the championship at a press conference on Monday. The organising Committee Chairman Khalid Ali Bin Zayed, member of Dubai Sports Council’s Executive Office, Ebrahim Al Bannai, Chairman of Dubai Chess Club and President of the Arab Chess Federation, Esmail Al Banna, Dubai Municipality Director of Corporate Marketing, Jamal Mohammad Abdouly of the Organiaing Committee and General Coordinator Mohammad Al Hussainy announced details of the event.
The organisers said the Rapid Chess event will consist of 15 rounds and will be held on the first three days, with games scheduled from 3 pm on June 16-18. The Blitz championship will follow with 21 rounds starting from 3 pm on June 19-20. A whopping purse of $400,000 (Dh1.46 million) in prize money will be at stake with a top prize of $40,000 for the winner of each tournament. The championship will be broadcast live on the tournament’s official website www.dubai2014wrb.com with online games and commentary.
In the Blitz Championship, each player will have three minutes plus two seconds additional time per move, starting from move one. In the Rapid Chess Championship, each player will have 15 minutes plus 10 seconds additional time per move, starting from move one.
