Absent champion, Chinese challenger, and ‘amputated’ title match: All you need to know about World Chess Championship

Who’s playing for the title this year?

The 2023 World Chess Championship will be contested between Grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi, who won the 2022 Candidates Tournament and Grandmaster Ding Liren, who finished second.

How do the two contenders compare?

As of March 2023, Nepomniachtchi is the higher-rated player with an Elo rating of 2795. Liren is just behind him, with a rating of 2788. While the Russian, who has been a GM since 2007, is ranked No 2 in the world, the Chinese player, a GM since 2009, is World No 3.

Nepomniachtchi also leads when it comes to head-to-head: in 14 classical chess games played between them, the Russian has won three games, and lost two, while the pair has drawn nine games. When rapid and blitz games are included, Nepomniachtchi’s lead increases to 11-5, with 11 draws.

💥 Facts you need to know about Ian Nepomniachtchi:
◼️ He was born on July 14, 1990.
◻️ He learned to play chess at the age of four.
◼️ He won the European Youth Chess Championship three times: in 2000 (U10), 2002 (U12) and 2003 (U12).
◻️ In 2002 he won the World Youth Chess… pic.twitter.com/ps0Wd9GLjb

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) April 5, 2023

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Isn’t Magnus Carlsen the world champion? Why isn’t he playing?

Carlsen announced a few days after winning the 2021 World Championship that he might skip the next edition unless GM Alireza Firouzja was his challenger across the board.

“If someone other than Firouzja wins the Candidates Tournament, it is unlikely that I will play the next world championship match,” the world champion said in a podcast.

But the Iran-born French GM did not make the cut, with last year’s vanquished world championship contender Nepomniachtchi winning the Candidates. True to his word, Carlsen chose to forgo the chance to defend his title.

💥 Facts you need to know about Ding Liren:
◼️ He was born on October 24, 1992.
◻️ He started playing chess at the age of four.
◼️ In 2009 he became China's 30th Grandmaster.
◻️ He is the highest-rated Chinese chess player in history.
◼️ He has won the Chinese Chess Championship… pic.twitter.com/1nk2YlVzSw

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) April 6, 2023

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Not everyone’s happy with Carlsen not playing…

During the American Cup tournament in March this year, GM Garry Kasparov spoke out about the upcoming World Chess Championship being “an amputated event”.

“I can hardly call it a World Championship match. For me, the World Championship match should include the strongest player on the planet, and this match doesn’t. I’m not here to comment on Magnus’ decision, but it’s kind of an amputated event,” said the former world champion while talking to Saint Louis Chess Club’s YouTube channel. “I have my own history with FIDE, so that’s why I’m not going to change my view about the FIDE Championships. It’s a pity Magnus is not there and naturally, the match between Nepo and Ding is a great show anyway, but it’s not a World Championship match.”

If Carlsen’s sitting this one out, what’s the buzz about this title clash?

For one, this will be the first time ever that a Chinese Grandmaster will be contending in the final to claim the World Championship title.

Liren’s presence made FIDE pick Astana as the venue over Argentina, Mexico and China, who were either serious bidders or had expressed an interest in hosting the final. The global governing body for chess wanted a city which didn’t have too much time difference from China.

“It is the first time in history that a Chinese GM reaches the final and fights for the title. We anticipate an enormous interest from China in this event, and that’s an opportunity we must capitalise on to promote chess in Asia,” said FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich.

There is also some interest in the choice of commentators for the event. Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand will be on commentary duty for the first four games, joining eight-time US Women’s Champion Irina Krush. From Game 5, the Indian GM will be replaced by Daniil Dubov, who was part of Magnus Carlsen’s team for the Dubai 2021 World Championship.

So what’s at stake?

Besides the title of the world champion, there are also mega bucks on offer. The prize fund for this year’s event will be 2 million euros, with 60 per cent going to the winner and the rest earmarked for the losing contender.

What’s the format of the World Chess Championship?

The World Championships in Astana will be played as a best of 14 games, with a time control of 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 60 minutes for the next 20 moves, and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 61. In case of a tie, the champion would be determined in a rapid chess playoff.

The world is holding its breath as two unstoppable minds prepare for immortality.
Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren will battle it out in the FIDE World Championship match for the ultimate chess title.

7 April – 1 May, 2023https://t.co/L8H27I551N
#NepoDing pic.twitter.com/0Trxe5cDCP

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) April 5, 2023

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Do players have to sign contracts?

Yes. The signing of the contracts is not just a formality. Players negotiate with the organisers about their terms which need to be met before they commit to playing. In 2021, for example, Carlsen negotiated with FIDE for months over issues like being allowed to show his sponsor’s logos during the match.

How do players prepare for the Championship?

They employ the services of other chess players called seconds. The names of seconds can sometimes be the most closely-guarded secret in the sport. The role of the seconds is to prepare the contender for the gruelling swing of games headed their way. They also play practice games against the contender and come up with a strategy to negate the opponent.

Nepo was part of Carlsen’s team when the Norwegian took on India’s Viswanathan Anand for the world title in 2014 in Sochi. Seven years later, Carlsen fought off the Russian’s challenge to claim the title. In that 2021 encounter, the Norwegian beat Russia’s Nepomniachtchi and later revealed his team, which included Russia’s Daniil Dubov, the 2018 world rapid chess champion. That revelation caused a massive furore in Russian chess circles with Dubov being painted as a traitor for helping Carlsen beat a compatriot.

Seconds preparing a player to compete in the World Chess Championship spend anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months prepping the contender.

Sometimes, players spend a lot of money to be in top shape for the event. For example, Kirill Zangalis, the manager of Sergey Karjakin, told Russian newspaper Sport-Express, that the GM had spent over a million dollars to train for the contest in 2016.

In 2021, Carlsen is said to have trained for seven weeks for the World Championship. He opened up about the three components of his preparations in an interview with Chess24: “One is theoretical preparation, which is preparing for your specific opponents and the openings you’re going to play and so on. Then there is physical preparation, which is just trying to get in as good physical shape as you can in order to withstand the long games and also the pressure that is there, and thirdly you also need practice, so I’m also playing a few tournaments, but not too many to interfere with the other parts, but I’m also playing that to be prepared and not be rusty.”

When and at what time will the games be held?

The Opening Ceremony for the event will be held on April 7 (Friday) at 7.30 pm local time (7 pm IST). The first game will be held on April 9 (Sunday) at 3 pm local time (2.30 pm IST).

Here’s the full schedule:

April 7: Opening Ceremony

April 9: Round 1
April 10: Round 2
April 12: Round 3
April 13: Round 4
April 15: Round 5
April 16: Round 6
April 18: Round 7
April 20: Round 8
April 21: Round 9
April 23: Round 10
April 24: Round 11
April 26: Round 12
April 27: Round 13
April 29: Round 14
April 30: Tie-breaker if needed or Closing Ceremony