Norway Chess: Karjakin beats the World Champion and his challenger in two daysSergey Karjakin, the 2016 challenger, had beaten the World Champion, Magnus Carlsen, in a classical game in Round 5 of the Norway Chess Tournament. In the next round, he defeated the 2021 challenger, Ian Nepomniachtchi, in the Armageddon game. Photo by Lennart Ootes Carlsen chose to play safe with black, and went for the Sicilian Sveshnikov, an opening that he used in his 2018 match against Fabiano Caruana. After 17 moves of theory, Karjakin decided to go all in, spicing up the position with tactics, which worked beautifully for the Russian GM, and led him to a big win. That was Carlsen’s second classical loss against Karjakin since G8 in the 2016 World Championship Match, and the World Champion was clearly very upset and skipped the visit to the TV 2 studio; instead went straight to his room. Photo by Lennart Ootes Round 6 was equally impressive for Karjakin who managed to win the 2021 Challenger of the World Champion Title, Ian Nepomniachtchi, in the Armageddon game of the Norway Chess Tournament. The two Russians have faced each other earlier in the Tournament, with Nepomniachtchi dominating the classical game against the Berlin defence. However, the “revenge” didn’t take long to strike, with Karjakin winning the Armageddon game of Round 6 brilliantly. https://twitter.com/olimpiuurcan/status/1437459106701275138?s=21Twitter couldn’t let this series of events go unnoticed, and we are all waiting to see what the future holds for the 2016 challenger, who is definitely in good form.

Google Customizes Search Results Display with Chess PiecesGoogle customized the way it displays search results for the term ‘chess’. Now the pagination appears as chess pieces, i.e. page one of search results is displayed as king, and next pages as pawns and other chess pieces. Bottom of the Google results page. Try to search ‘Chess’ in your country This is not the first time Google, the world’s most popular search engine, customized its pages with chess: during the 2016 World Chess Championship that was held in New York City, the search engine introduced a chess doodle, and later paid homage to chess champions. Thank you Google for enjoying chess, which remains one of the most popular games in the world!

Rebranding KeralaWorld Chess continues to make chess beautiful again, one club at a time! This year, World Chess called on chess clubs and federations to submit their institution for a free design makeover by our design team (you are welcome to submit your chess club or federation!). Dozens of submissions later, we are picking those who, in our view, would benefit from the facelift. Next up is the Kerala Chess Association in India. The Kerala Chess Association is affiliated with the All India Chess Federation, with more than 400 members. Its mission is to identify upcoming chess players and mould them into world-class professionals. They organize the State Chess Championships every year. For a long time, their logo has been a gold crowned knight, one of the most powerful symbols of chess culture. World Chess’ creative team decided to take the knight down a notch (crowns are out of vogue!) but kept it as a formative element. Designers gave this piece a more specific character, so now it’s part of the very colorful and structured layout that captures your attention and gives weight to the messaging. The knight is not a simple sign on a plain surface. It seems to be placed at the top of the construction resembling the Louvre museum, standing, in fact, on the chessboard that is rushing upward. Along with going inventive with geometry and perspective, the team chose bright and warm colours that can be used separately or in colour-block combinations. The font highlights and links together the knight’s juicy shape and the strict lines of the chessboard. All these elements of the new design, such as logo, colors, fonts, dynamic geometry are not only welcoming and friendly but also recognizable for their simplicity and elegance. It is a working tool ready to be applied in various professional environments. Comment on the design and submit your clubs for rebranding!

Is Carlsen out of Form in Norway Chess?Magnus Carlsen is playing in his last big event before the World Chess Championship Match and appears out of form, almost losing to Alireza Firouzja and Aryan Tari in Norway Chess Tournament. He barely survived both games on luck, according to Twitter commentary. Carlsen will have to level up his game before facing Nepo in less than 80 days. Photo by Lennart Ootes Carlsen probably sees Norway Chess, a tournament he won many times, as a good training session before the Match given the absence of over-the-board games in the last two years, but it seems much more than that now when Carlsen’s play is less than inspired. In the first round, Carlsen faced Firouzja, whom the chess pundits call the Champion’s heir-apparent (and they are probably right!). After drawing their classical game, Carlsen found himself in a dead-lost position in the Armageddon decider game, which he surprisingly managed to survive. Firouzja is well known for his fearless approach to any top GM and is a master of quick-play, but in the end, Carlsen managed to defend. Photo by Lennart Ootes The same defensive skills (or luck!) kept Carlsen alive at the classical game in the 2nd round of Norway Chess against Aryan Tari. The two Norwegian GMs had a rather complicated match, with Tari missing an incredible chance of capturing Carlsen’s queen and eventually winning the game. Even without this missed tactical opportunity, Carlsen ended up fighting a Two Rooks against a Queen endgame, which allowed him to “steal” the desired half-point from Tari, after a sharp battle. Carlsen is a brilliant chess player, the strongest in a generation, but form and mood affect the players’ game. Based on his performance in Norway Chess, Carlsen appears to be in bad form, but his supply of luck remains intact.

Nepo to Face Carlsen in Norway 90 days Before the MatchIn less than 90 days, the Russian challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi will face his friend and fierce rival Magnus Carlsen in the World Chess Championship match that looks like an existential dilemma of Shakespearean proportions: beating and breaking the spirit of someone who is a little like your brother. Nepo in the make-up studio before the final of the Armageddon by World Chess. This is one of the first times he showed his now signature ‘Samurai’ hair style’ Even Henrik Carlsen, Magnus’s ever-protective father and manager, referred to Nepo as someone whom he deeply cared about. Nepo and Carlsen will face each other mere 3 months before the Match in another chess event, Norway Chess, and both will surely treat it as an important indicator of their performance in the Match. But niceties aside, they will probably try to beat each other psychologically, and it will be especially difficult for Nepo, so we recommend tuning in for the broadcast on September 7. Both players, who already started preparations for the Match, will probably steer clear of using their best ideas in Norway, and will try to win on sheer skill. On the cosmic level of play and form, that usually means a draw, but there may be surprises. But Nepo will play in Norway, Carlsen’s hometurf, and will have to deal with the Norwegian press that abhors civility (yes, they are that good!), and he will have to work hard not to be rattled. The spectators (and both players and their teams) will see the games between Nepo and Carlsen as a preview of the Match, and it will be, if not on the chess preparation level. We will have to look for asymmetry between the players’ appetite for hardball, the way they deploy humor in press conferences, and desire to go nuclear if needed.

Hikaru Nakamura: from Twitch superstar to 27 on-board rounds undefeatedThe American GM and streamer (1.1mln subscribers on YouTube) Hikaru Nakamura, dominated at the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz Tournament without losing a single game. The Twitch superstar managed to go through all 27 rounds against 2700+ rated players, setting a record for the tournament! With three rounds to spare, Nakamura won the event leaving Fabiano Caruana and Richard Rapport at the second and third place respectively. The 5-time US champion was heavily judged the past years for making streaming his main career, despite the fact that he could still fight in the World Championship cycle and other elite events at the professional level. Nakamura explained in his recent interview that when he didn’t qualify for the Candidates in 2019, he decided to become a streamer instead. Notwithstanding the early disapproval of the chess fans, streaming seemed to have helped Nakamura perfect his skills in fast chess, as he consistently exhibited error-free play, unlike the tournament’s favorites Caruana and Rapport who blundered throughout the weekend. So how did this happen? How did Nakamura, who effectively retired from professional chess, become so good? Probably, he played a lot of fast chess while streaming — even more than when he was a professional chess player, and he simply streamed himself into becoming one of the strongest players in the world.

Berlin Wins Popular Vote; Will Host the Next Grand Prix Series and Other Events in 2022Berlin, the capital of Germany, will be the main host of the 2022 Grand Prix Series. The Series, a part of the World Chess Championship circuit, will run from February to April in a bespoke-designed chess arena. The city was chosen by World Chess, the gaming company that organizes the Series in partnership with FIDE, as well as by chess fans from around the world. In a survey conducted over two weeks, chess players, organizers, and federations were asked to suggest a city to host the prestigious series, and Berlin emerged as a clear favorite with 16 percent of the total votes. The runners-up were Sao Paulo and London. In total, over 4000 people took part in the survey. Throughout the two weeks, chess lovers got the chance to cast a vote for their favorite chess city. According to the organizers, such an enthusiastic response was a little unexpected but is in line with the growing popularity of chess both online and offline. The popular vote marks an important point in chess history because for the first time the global chess community was actively involved in the process of deciding on a new chess capital, and Berlin is indeed a worthy choice. The sport is very popular in the city: according to a YouGov study, 23% of the population there play chess regularly. Ilya Merenzon, CEO of World Chess remarked that “Chess in Berlin has a lot of history and Berlin has a lot of love for the game, and we are looking forward not only to bringing the 3 months of top-level chess events here but also to establish a permanent home for one of the most popular games here”. Arkady Dvorkovich, the FIDE President, says: “FIDE continues to support and bring top-level chess to the world’s cities. Chess in Berlin is a part of culture, and we are thrilled that the city and the whole of Europe will have an opportunity not only to follow the games online but also the see them life, even in these challenging times”. Ullrich Krause, President of the German Chess Federation: “We are thrilled that World Chess is bringing the FIDE Grand Prix 2022 to Germany! And as we know from the 2018 Candidates Tournament, Berlin is the perfect city for a world-class event of this kind: a chess-loving international audience meets excellent and interesting venues. The German Chess Federation and World Chess will make these 45 days of Grand Prix a true chess festival with activities throughout the city”. The Series will feature 24 players, each of whom will compete in two out of three tournaments. Each event will consist of a group stage and then a knockout round. In the group stage, each group will play a round-robin six-round tournament. The system has been improved based on feedback from the chess community regarding the number of classical games: there are six classical games in the first round of each competition. This further reduces the chance of random results and ensures that players with consistently high scores advance to the next stage. The prize fund for each event is EUR 150,000 , which is a EUR 20,000 increase from 2019. The design theme of the Series will be ‘Time to Say Berlin’. The slogan is a play on the now famous tweet by World Champion Magnus Carlsen ‘Time to Say Dubai’ once he learned the name of his challenger in the FIDE World Chess Championship which is due to  take place in Dubai in November. The Berlin Grand Prix Series marks the beginning of a new cycle. The design of the Series represents the main characters and archetypes of Berlin and is supplemented by the chess board and graffiti-style bespoke typeface. The Series consists of three events, each featuring 16 players. Each event consists of a group stage and a knock-out. The events are planned to take place in Berlin. However, FIDE may propose a supplementary city with excellent transportation links with Berlin for one out of three events. The FIDE Grand Prix Series 2022 is supported by the following leading global companies: Algorand as the Official Blockchain Partner Kaspersky as the Official Cybersecurity Partner

Time to Say Dubai: a Slogan, a Tweet, a Towel Dubai, the most populous city in the UAE, billed itself as a tourist destination for decades, and ‘Time to Say Dubai’ slogan was used by the tourism industry to promote the palmy hub with the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. When Magnus Carlsen, the World Chess Champion, learned that he will be playing Ian Nepo for the World Championship title later this year, he tweeted the familiar ‘Time to Say Dubai’ slogan, referring to the 14-round Championship Match that is scheduled for November 2021 in Dubai as part of the World Expo. The expression seems very familiar not only because many have seen it in the magazines, but also because it’s a play on the Andrea Bocelli hit song (60 mln views on YouTube!) ‘Time to Say Goodbye’. Chess conspiracy theorists even speculate that Carlsen hints that this might be his last Championship match in its current form. Without reading too much into this (very sad) song, World Chess is happy to introduce the graphics that celebrate the upcoming Dubai Championship Match and the fact that all eyes will be on the epic battle between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepo, his long-time friend, competitor, and peer. The ‘Time to Say Dubai’ graphics, designed by Masterskaya for World Chess, will be released as a capsule merchandise collection that includes beach towels — it’s Dubai, after all. The graphics will also be released under Creative Commons license for chess organizers, sites, and broadcasters to use in broadcast designs. It’s done so that it can complement the official logo of the event when it’s released later this year. Time to Say Dubai graphics and identity will also be used for the official World Chess Championship sets that will be released in conjunction with the World Chess Championship Match. ‘Time to Say Dubai’ merchandise line will be available in the World Chess Shop and in partner shops around the world T-shirts and sweatshirts are a staple of the collection 2021 Packaging of the World Chess Championship Set Chess broadcasters and media which would like to use the graphics in their broadcasts and designs related to the Match are welcome to request high-resolution files at media@worldchess.com.

Duda knocks out the Champion from the World Cup; Qualifies for the CandidatesThe 23-year old Polish GM, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, faced Magnus Carlsen today at the FIDE World Cup, and knocked out the World Champion in a second rapid game. Duda has reached the final against Sergey Karjakin. Photo: FIDE Duda was the one who broke Carlsen’s 125-game unbeaten streak in Round 5 of Norway Chess, becoming the first player to defeat the World Chess Champion in a classical game since Shakhriyar Mamedyarov shocked Magnus in Biel. Karjakin had already secured a spot in the final and in the next edition of the Candidates Tournament by beating Vladimir Fedoseev with the white pieces. The former World Championship challenger won the World Cup in 2015, when he defeated Peter Svidler in a very unpredictable game, and this year he is going to fight against Duda, after a quite impressive tournament. Twitter celebrated the Duda-Carlsen match (of course!), and the minute Magnus resigned, chess grandmasters, influencers, and commentators all rushed to make a comment. https://twitter.com/benjamin_bok/status/1422565887610138628https://twitter.com/anishgiri/status/1422564954020925440Carlsen showed class by giving his congratulations to Duda and Karjakin and casually reminding that he came to Sochi to get some practice before a really important event of the year, the World Chess Championship against Nepo. https://twitter.com/MagnusCarlsen/status/1422571779202207752Now, what’s left to see is a challenging match between Duda and Karjakin!

The Most Exciting Chess Shop in the World to Open in New YorkWorld Chess, FIDE commercial partner, together with Algorand, a leading blockchain accelerating the convergence of decentralized and traditional finance, are bringing the first-ever official World Chess shop to New York City. The shop comes to New York on the heels of ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ and in anticipation of the 2021 FIDE World Championship Match that takes place in November 2021 in Dubai. The shop will feature the exclusive official sets for the Championship Match and other collectible chess merchandise. The shop will open at Showfields in New York City on August 24, with online sales set to kick off on 3 August. The most exciting chess shop in the world The World Chess shop at Showfields, featuring the Dubai capsule collection and sought-after merchandise, is already dubbed the most exciting chess shop in the world. Designed by the company responsible for the most iconic chess logos in history, the shop represents the new look of chess: edgy, hip, and unconventional. Ilya Merenzon, CEO of World Chess, says: “New York is the best place to launch the first official shop: the passion for the game, the eye for design, and the community in the city is the best in the world. Chess fans will fall in love with the sport even more after they check out the shop, and we can’t wait to see New Yorkers wearing the official merchandise for brunch at Balthazar and Tarallucci e Vino. I know we will!”, adds Merenzon. Besides the limited edition sets, World Chess will also be presenting its best-selling products: the official chess sets, boards, books, digital access for the FIDE Online Arena, and more. Limited Edition Championship Sets for Algorand Currency The highlight of the shop will be a limited edition of 16 official sets produced exclusively for the Championship Match in collaboration with Algorand, the official blockchain partner of the Match. These sets will be available only for Algorand’s native currency, Algo. These numbered sets were designed by Pentagram’s Daniel Weil for the World Chess Championship and feature the signature ‘Time to Say Dubai’ graphics. In the run-up to the FIDE World Championship Match, World Chess and Algorand are giving New Yorkers a taste of the excitement of the most important chess event. The shop will host numerous events at Showfields with celebrities, chess, and crypto luminaries alike as well as broadcast of the most exciting moments. Limited edition merchandise collection New Yorkers will be the first to have access to a limited-edition collection celebrating the upcoming World Chess Championship Match. The capsule collection including a “Time to say Dubai” cap, T-shirt, and sweatshirt will be available in the World Chess shop during the Championship Match. Showfields Website

The Official World Chess Championship Sets to be Certified as NFT on AlgorandWorld Chess and Algorand, a Boston-based blockchain company founded by Turing award winner Silvio Micali, will produce a limited edition of the official World Chess Championship sets. The sets with the same design will be exclusively used in the FIDE World Championship Match that takes place in Dubai in November of 2021. Each limited edition World Chess Championship set has a certificate of authenticity as a digital NFT (non fungible token) on the Algorand blockchain. The sets will only be available for purchase in Algorand’s native currency, Algo, or any stablecoin on Algorand (including USDC or USDT). The collection of 16 championship sets will celebrate the FIDE World Championship Match that has been moved from 2020 due to the pandemic. These numbered sets were designed by Pentagram’s Daniel Weil for the World Chess Championship cycle. Handmade from boxwood and rosewood, the sets will feature the signature ‘Time to Say Dubai’ graphics and edition number (1 — 16). Algorand is the official blockchain partner of World Chess and the 2021 FIDE World Championship Match and has a strong relationship to the sport — the first blockchain-based game recorded on blockchain and official FIDE Online Arena ratings are all transparently recorded and tracked on Algorand’s advanced blockchain. You can reserve your edition of the set on World Chess website. The price of the set is 999 algos.

Upcoming Russian Star Matched Against Carlsen in World CupAndrey Esipenko, a 19 year old Grandmaster from Russia has beaten his compatriot Danil Dubov in the fourth round of FIDE World Cup and will face the World Champion in Round 5. All eyes will be on this duel because Esipenko has beaten Carlsen earlier this year at Tata Steel Tournament. Watch the interview where Esipenko goes over his match against Dubov which he won on tiebreaks.

Rebranding Hyenas — An African Club You Will Actually Want to JoinWorld Chess is making chess beautiful one chess club at a time. A month ago we invited the chess clubs of the world to apply for a free design facelift by our design team (submit your chess club or federation!). It was an attempt to save the sport from a faceless, boring, and humorless design that has been tormenting chess for decades. After rummaging through the submissions, we found lots of exceptional chess clubs and institutions (many of which, may we add, have excellent names). There are Shiva’s Academy of Chess from India, Dubai Chess & Culture Club from UAE, and Canadian Aurora Chess Club. For our inaugural rebranding, we are happy to present Hyenas Chess Club — an African chess club that has 10,000 members. In the next several weeks, World Chess and FOA will offer clubs an opportunity to create their own page, events, and membership roster — a requested feature for clubs and organizations. Watch this space, comment on the design, and submit your clubs for rebranding. The club logo is versatile and can be adjusted based on the requirements of the format. The logo lands nicely on a large surface One can carry a chess set around in a branded shopper Posters will look good as a stand-alone marketing item or part of the merchandise collection The logo lands itself well on stationary The logo looks appealing in a horizontal poster The sign is an important part of the club’s branding. Very inviting.

Who is the next challenger? Happy Birthday NepoIan Nepomniachtchi is a Russian GM, World #No4, and the next challenger against Magnus Carlsen! Today Ian turns 31 🎉🎉 What should you absolutely know about the next challenger? His nickname is Nepo (short for Nepomniachtchi) He was born in Bryansk, Russia In 2002 he won the World Junior Championship U12, barely edging out Carlsen, whom he outrated at that point. He became a Grandmaster at the age of 17 in 2007 In 2010, Nepomniachtchi won his first Russian Championship, defeating Karjakin in a playoff by drawing an Armageddon game as Black. He won the 2010 and 2020 Russian Superfinal, the 2010 European Individual titles, the 2016 Tal Memorial, and the 2008 and 2015 Aeroflot Open. He also won the World Team – Chess Championship as a member of the Russian team in Antalya (2013) and Astana (2019), and the 2015 European Team Chess Championship in Reykjavík with the Russian team. At 28 years of age, Nepo entered the top 10 for the first time, reaching his peak rating to that date of 2773 and thus becoming the highest-rated Russian player. He has won two silver medals in World Rapid Championships and one in World Blitz Championship. In April 2021, Ian won the 2020/2021 Candidates tournament with 8.5/14 points, qualifying him to play for the world championship. He has a brilliant record against world champions. At standard time controls, he has positive scores against GM Vladimir Kramnik, GM Viswanathan Anand, and Magnus Carlsen. He also has positive records against GM Anatoly Karpov, and GM Garry Kasparov in rapid/blitz, the only formats he has played them in. Download a card about Nepo by clicking here.

2022 FIDE Grand Prix Series AnnouncedTwo tickets to the FIDE Candidates Tournament will be decided in a tightly-packed series organized by World Chess Opening ceremony of the 2019 FIDE Grand Prix organized by World Chess in Moscow FIDE and World Chess are pleased to announce the 2022 Grand Prix Series that will take place in February — April of 2022 and will consist of three tournaments. The events will take place in one city — a deviation from the typical system where Grand Prix events are hosted in different cities around the world, but a move that will make it easier for the chess players to plan their travel schedule amid the pandemic-related travel and visa restrictions. The Series will feature 24 players who will compete in two out of three events. Each event will consist of a group stage and then a knock-out. In the group stage, each group will play a round-robin six-round tournament. The system has been improved to reflect the chess community’s feedback regarding the number of classic games: now there are six classic games in the first stage of each event. This further decreases random results and ensures that the players who consistently perform well move to the next stage. The prize fund for each event is EUR150,000 — a EUR20,000 increase from 2019. The qualification criteria to the Series has also been revamped to increase the number of players who are selected by events results — 16 out of 24 players qualify for their performance in the World Cup and Grand Swiss. The rest is selected by rating, and two are nominated by FIDE and World Chess respectively. The events are packed tightly into the first half of 2022 to allow ample time for the Candidates Tournament which is expected to be held in 2022 and a possibility to hold the FIDE Championship Match in the end of 2022 or beginning of 2023, restoring the FIDE Calendar that shifted due to the pandemic. Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE President, says: “While we are anxiously waiting for the outcome of the 2021 Match between Magnus Carlsen and Yan Nepomniachtchi, we are looking forward to the next cycle and new players qualifying to beat the World Champion, whoever he might be”. The Series is organized by World Chess, FIDE commercial partner and official broadcaster. Ilya Merenzon, World Chess CEO, says: “We are currently on the lookout for the best possible city to hold the Series and are so excited to work with the chess fans and ask their opinion of the next chess capital. In the next week, we’ll issue a global call for suggestions and will talk to the chess luminaries and fans around the world to choose this special city”. Correction: 12 players are selected based on their performance in the Word Cup and Grand Swiss, and 10 player qualify by rating. 2 players are nominated by FIDE and World Chess. Full regulations are available on FIDE website.

Daniel Weil, Renown Architect, on the World Chess Set DesignDaniel Weil, renown architect and designer, took on a mission to reinvent the chess pieces for World Chess. In the process, he redesigned the entire way chess feels and looks today, ranging from the chess pieces to stage design to lighting to furniture. In this unique lecture, Weil breaks down the process of redesigning chess and explains the basis for each piece and reference. World Chess has partnered with Daniel since the outset, and his vision and respect for the game are visible in all events and products that World Chess brings to the market today.

FIDE Online Arena Now Has an iOS App. HmmmFIDE Online Arena, the official chess gaming platform, released a native iOS app which was met with hmmms because it didn’t happen earlier. After all, it’s 2021, most of the gaming is mobile-first, and the app should have been released ages ago. “Yes, it’s even cringeworthy to announce it now, — says Ilya Merenzon, CEO of World Chess, the company that manages FIDE Online Arena. ‘We apologize sincerely to the users for not releasing it a decade ago. Of course, in the next few months, we will be adding some cool features to the app that became possible only recently with the new iOS, but still — if you wanted to play for the officially-recognized rating on your mobile device, you should have been able to do it earlier. However, we are happy to join a selection of other excellent chess apps that are available in the App Store.‘ The mobile version of the platform, new.arena.myfide.net, is also optimized for mobile users, including both iOS and Android devices. Follow this link to download the app.

Vladimir Kramnik at the Armageddon StudioLast year, World Chess and Match TV, the leading Russian sports TV channel, premiered “Armageddon”, a chess competition designed specifically for broadcasting on live television. The tournament, filmed is a special pavilion, was different from typical chess events — it was visually engaging, lightning-fast, and featured novelties like heart beat metrics. The event was a prime-time hit. The series will resume next year, and we are happy to give you the insider view of the first time Vladimir Kramnik, one of the participants of the series, visited the playing arena.