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FIDE announces €1 million prize money, 'exciting' new format for World Rapid and Blitz Championships
FIDE, the Switzerland-based global governing body for chess, has announced a prize fund of €1 million ($1.12 million) for the World Rapid and Blitz Championships that will take place later this year besides announcing 'format enhancements' for what is among the most prestigious events in the chess calendar.
Out of the total prize money, €700,000 has been allocated for the 'Open' section with €300,000 reserved for the Women's Category. Additionally the format for the Rapid championship remains unchanged, with the 'Open' and 'Women' sections having 13 and 11 rounds respectively. The winner of the two sections will be decided through a tie-breaker in case there are multiple players finishing at the top spot.
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FIDE announces revamped format for Blitz championship
FIDE, however, has unveiled a revamped format for the knockout stage of the World Blitz Championship, with the top four players from the Swiss stage of the tournament advancing directly to the semi-finals. The tournament previously had eight players advancing to the knockouts in the 'Open' as well as 'Women' sections.
'The new format is an exciting mix of the Swiss system and knockout. The increased number of rounds in the qualifying part ensures that the strongest players will progress to the knockout. Also, the final match-up is ideally scheduled to suit audiences across all major chess hubs.
'We are very excited about the event, and have already started preparations to produce the best quality broadcast for millions of spectators,' FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky was quoted by Chess.com as saying.
'These format enhancements aim to make the event more dynamic while preserving the sport's integrity and excitement for both players and fans,' said FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich.
Qatar capital Doha will be hosting the World Rapid and Blitz Championships from 26 to 31 December this year.
The previous edition that took place in New York City witnessed the infamous 'Jeansgate' scandal in which world No 1 Magnus Carlsen found himself embroiled in a massive controversy for showing up during the Rapid tournament in a pair of jeans, and subsequently getting penalised after refusing to change into a pair of formal trousers.
Carlsen also made headlines for the wrong reasons during the Blitz championship as well for sharing the title with Russian Grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi after a viral backstage video showed the two having a chat, with the Norwegian chess icon allegedly telling his opponent to play out a series of draws and force FIDE to hand the trophy to both of them.
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Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy, meanwhile, had been crowned women's world rapid champion – becoming only the second player to win the title more than once.
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