The chess world has its eyes on the upcoming classical World Chess Championship match between title holder Ding Liren and young challenger Gukesh Dommaraju in a titanic clash that will decide who the best chess players in the world not named Magnus Carlsen.
All joking aside, the world chess championship is always a momentous occasion and there have been many other times in the history of the royal game when it wasn’t the clear number one and number two contesting the title. (Anand-Gelfand, anyone?) It still remains the crown jewel of the chess world and it is a must-watch event of epic proportions, with a huge impact on the community.
Here is everything you need to know about the 2024 World Chess Championship.
2024 World Chess Championship match schedule and venue, explained
The 2024 World Chess Championship match will take place between November 20 and December 15 in Singapore. The specific venue had not been selected by FIDE at the time, with four venues supposedly under consideration, but it was ultimately determined that Resorts World Sentosa would be hosting the match.
FIDE has now revealed the up-to-date regulations and rules related to this year’s World Chess Championship match, and while it was a reasonable assumption that it would follow suit with the 2023 match, small adjustments have been made along the way, which we have noted in italics below. Here’s what it all looks like:
- 14 classical games (120 minutes per side for the first 40 moves and 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with 30 seconds of increment added per move starting after move 41); in 2023, it was 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, 60 for the next 20, and 15 minutes for the remainder of the game, with 30 seconds of increment added per move.
- Tiebreakers: If the players are level after the 14 classical games, mini-matches with progressively faster time controls will follow.
- Four 25+10 rapid games
- Two 5+3 blitz games
- A single 3+2 game, played with alternating colors in case of a draw until a winner is found; in 2023, two 5+3 mini-matches were scheduled before the match would progress to this point.
The prize pool of the event is $2.5 million, an increase from 2023’s €2 million total. Instead of a set split between the match winner and the runner-up, each player will earn $200,000 for every game won, with the rest of the funds to be split equally between the players. In case the match progresses to a tiebreak, the winner gets $1.3 million, and the defeated player will get $1.2 million to their name.
Unlike in previous world championship cycles, the loser of the match will not automatically qualify for the next Candidates Tournament. However, they will receive a significant number of points in the FIDE Circuit, which will make it easier, but not guarantee, that they will get to fight for the chance to become the challenger in the next world championship match.
Who are the players in the 2024 World Chess Championship?
Reigning world champion Ding Liren will face young Indian phenom Gukesh D in Singapore in a fascinating clash of generations. Ding has been an elite-level player of the past decade who has lost some of his shine since ascending to the chess summit, while Gukesh is one of the many promising Indian youngsters coming to prominence around this time, winning the Candidates Tournament in spectacular fashion to punch his ticket to the big match. He has also scored an individual and team gold medal at the 2024 Chess Olympiad, with a 3000+ tournament performance rating.
At the time of writing, based on the October 2024 ratings list, Ding Liren is ranked number 21 in the world in classical chess, with an Elo of 2728. His challenger is number five with an Elo of 2794.
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