FIDE announces €1 million prize money, 'exciting' new format for World Rapid and Blitz Championships

Qatar capital Doha will be hosting the World Rapid and Blitz Championships from 26 to 31 December this year. Here’s what’s in store as far as the revamped format of the prestigious tournament is concerned, and how the prize money will be distributed.

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.

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.

Continue Reading on FIRSTPOST