Magnus Carlsen brings richest online event for 8 elite players

With scores of chess tournaments cancelled worldwide owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, World champion Magnus Carlsen has come up with a $250,000-online event for eight elite players.

Live action with commentary of the tournament in nine languages will be available on Chess24.com.

With scores of chess tournaments cancelled worldwide owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, World champion Magnus Carlsen has come up with a $250,000-online event for eight elite players. The Magnus Carlsen Invitational will be played from April 18 to May 3 with shorter time controls. The list of participants for the world’s richest online event will be announced soon. Live action with commentary in nine languages will be available on Chess24.com . Commenting on the initiative, Carlsen said, “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 when no other live, competitive sport is being played.

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“Chess is unique in the sports world as the moves are the same whether played on a wooden board or a computer screen.” The format involves seven rounds of single round-robin where each match features four rapid games, the time control being 15 minutes each plus 10-second increment for every move. The winner of each match gets three points and loser gets none. If the match ends 2-2, an Armageddon game (where the player with white pieces gets five minutes on the clock and black, four) will decide the winner. The winner gets two points and the loser, one. From Rounds one to six, two matches will be played simultaneously, with each round played over two days. The seventh round will see all matches played concurrently. Thereafter, the top four players will be involved in a knockout-semifinals. The semifinals, third-place match and final will use the same four-game rapid format to decide the winner.