The 2023 World Chess Championship is just around the corner, with the throne left vacant after Magnus Carlsen decided against defending his title. Here is everything you need to know about the tournament.
The 2023 World Chess Championship is set to start in less than a month and will crown a new world champion after ten years. The event will feature a best-of-14 match of classical games with the first player to score 7.5 points taking the match win and the title of world champion.
If the match ends in a tie, the players will compete in a series of rapid and, if necessary, blitz games that will be used as tie-breakers.
Below you will find all the information available about the 2023 World Chess Championship.
2023 World Chess Championship: Schedule
The World Chass Championship will officially kick off on April 7 with the opening ceremony, though there won’t be any action until April 9. The game will take place at the St. Regis hotel, located in the heart of Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana.
There will be one game per day, with a rest day every two rounds (and one on April 19, halfway through the tournament). All games will start at 3 pm local time (9 am GMT/2 am PT).
The full schedule can be found below:
April 7: Opening ceremony (1.30 pm GMT/6.30 am PT)
April 9: Game 1
April 10: Game 2
April 11: Rest day
April 12: Game 3
April 13: Game 4
April 14: Rest day
April 15: Game 5
April 16: Game 6
April 17: Rest day
April 18: Game 7
April 19: Rest day
April 20: Game 8
April 21: Game 9
April 22: Rest day
April 23: Game 10
April 24: Game 11
April 25: Rest day
April 26: Game 12
April 27: Game 13
April 28: Rest day
April 29: Game 14
April 30: Tie-break (if necessary) or closing ceremony
May 1: Closing ceremony (if tie-break is played)
2023 World Chess Championship: Players
The two players that will battle for the title of the best chess player in the world will be Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia and Ding Liren of China.
With Carlsen abdicating his title, Ding Liren, the runner-up of the 2022 Candidates Tournament, will take on Nepomniachtchi, who will play his second consecutive world championship match.
Liren, 29, is the highest-rated Chinese player in history and is currently ranked second in the world, only behind Carlsen.
Nepomniachtchi is currently the world’s No.3 player. This will be the 32-year-old’s second world championship match after he lost to Carlsen 7.5-3.5 in 2021.
2023 World Chess Championship: How to watch
The world championship match will be broadcast on Chess.com and Twitch with live commentary from other chess masters.
2023 World Chess Championship: Prize
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) is providing a prize pool of 2 million euros ($2.17 million USD) net of any applicable local taxes.
If the match ends within 14 games, 60% of the prize pool will go to the winner and 40% to the runner-up. If a tie-break is needed, the prize pool will be split 55%-45%.
2023 World Chess Championship: Why is Carlsen not playing?
Norwegian chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen, the reigning five-time World Chess Champion, first stated in 2021 that he would not defend his title unless he faced Alireza Firouzja, the 19-year-old Iranian-French sensation.
FIDE
In July 2022, Carlsen confirmed on a podcast that he would not defend his title.
After five world championship titles, Carlsen simply does not enjoy these matches anymore. “I don’t rule out participation in the future, but I also wouldn’t count on it,” he said.
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