FIDE World Chess Championship 2023
The FIDE World Chess Championship 2023 begins from the 7th of April to the 1st of May 2023 to decide the new World Chess Champion. The match will be held in Astana, Kazakhstan, from 7 April to 1 May 2023 at the St Regis Astana Hotel.
The current World Champion, Magnus Carlsen, chose not to shield his title against Ian Nepomniachtchi, the winner of the Candidates Tournament of 2022. Accordingly, Nepomniachtchi will play the second-place finisher in the Candidates, Ding Liren, in the final World Chess Championship Match.
Schedule
As per FIDE’s schedule on their official website, the first round of the 2023 World Chess Championship will begin on April 9, 2023, with the matches that may continue till April 30th, keeping the possibility of tiebreakers in mind. On January 19, FIDE announced that the World Championship would be located in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan.
| Friday, 7 April | Opening Ceremony |
| Saturday, 8 April | Media Day |
| Sunday, 9 April | Game 1 |
| Monday, 10 April | Game 2 |
| Tuesday, 11 April | Rest day |
| Wednesday, 12 April | Game 3 |
| Thursday, 13 April | Game 4 |
| Friday, 14 April | Rest Day |
| Saturday, 15 April | Game 5 |
| Sunday, 16 April | Game 6 |
| Monday, 17 April | Rest Day |
| Tuesday, 18 April | Game 7 |
| Wednesday, 19 April | Rest Day |
| Thursday, 20 April | Game 8 |
| Friday, 21 April | Game 9 |
| Saturday, 22 April | Rest Day |
| Sunday, 23 April | Game 10 |
| Monday, 24 April | Game 11 |
| Tuesday, 25 April | Rest Day |
| Wednesday, 26 April | Game 12 |
| Thursday, 27 April | Game 13 |
| Friday, 28 April | Rest Day |
| Saturday, 29 April | Game 14 |
| Sunday, 30 April | Tiebreaks or Closing ceremony (if tiebreaks are not played) |
| Monday, 1 May | Closing ceremony (if tiebreaks are played) |
Format
The competition involves seeking a result from the best of 14 matches being played where the first player to win 7.5 matches will be declared the next World Chess Champion.
Players
Nepomniachtchi, 32, is currently the most appraised player in his nation and is playing in his second successive World Chess Championship match. In the wake of winning the 2020-2021 Candidates Tournament with a round remaining, he lost his title to Carlsen 7.5-3.5. Joining the 2022 Candidates Tournament, Nepo once again won the tournament with a round remaining, this time with a record-breaking 9.5/14 score, the highest ever won in the event’s current format.
To compete against Nepomniachtchi, we have -Ding, 29, who is the highest-rated Chinese player in history. He currently ranks second among the World Chess players, only behind Carlsen. Ding qualified for the 2022 Candidates by rating and had to play 26 rated games over weeks to earn his seat at the World Chess Championship. Ding won a dramatic game against Hikaru Nakamura in the last round to steal second place.
Further, as the 2022 Candidates runner-up, Ding earned the right to play Nepomniachtchi for the world champion title.
Prize Fund
The prize fund will be 2,000,000 Euros split 60% vs 40% between the winner and the runner-up. If the match is tied after 14 classical games, the prize fund will be split 55% vs 45% in favor of the winner of the tiebreak.
Regulations
The time control for each game in the classical section of the match will be 120 minutes per side for the first 40 moves, 60 minutes for the next 20 moves, and 15 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment per move starting with move 61.
If the score is equal after 14 games, tie-break games with faster time controls will be played:
Four rapid games with 25 minutes per side and a 10-second increment starting with move one will be played. A player who scores 2.5 points or more will win the championship.
If the score is equal after the rapid portion, a mini-match of two blitz games will be played, with a time control of 5 minutes per side and a 3-second increment starting with move 1. A player who scores 1.5 points or more will win the championship. If the blitz mini-match is tied, another mini-match with the same conditions will be played to decide the winner of the championship.
If both blitz mini-matches are drawn, a single game with a time control of 3 minutes per side and a 2-second increment starting with move one will be played, and the winner will win the championship. A drawing of lots shall decide which player plays with the white pieces. If this game is drawn, another blitz game with reversed colors will be played with the same time control, and the winner will win the championship. This process will be repeated until either player wins a game.
Players will not be allowed to agree to a draw before Black’s 40th move. A draw claim before then will be permitted only through the arbiter if a threefold repetition or stalemate has occurred.
Broadcast
Chess lovers can view the World Championship match live on the events section of Chess.com and Twitch.
Hope you are all set to watch the anticipated World Championship match and have all the information you require to prepare to see exhilarating chess action in April.
Stay tuned for more!
