For the first time in its 138-year history, the 2024 FIDE World Championship will feature two finalists from Asia, with the current world champion Grandmaster Ding Liren of China taking on GM Gukesh Dommaraju, the 18-year-old chess prodigy from Chennai, India.
The Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore will play host to the much-awaited final to determine this year’s world champion. Gukesh, thanks to his win in Candidates 2024, will now challenge Liren for the coveted crown and will battle it out with him.
A victory against Liren would make Gukesh the 18th world champion, and the youngest ever to win the title, beating Russian GM Garry Kasparov’s record of becoming the youngest world champion at the age of 22 in 1985.
“It’s such a huge event to represent my country and carry the hopes of Indians. It is an honour for me. I take it very seriously,” Gukesh told FIDE speaking of the final.
With the rapid rise of Gukesh, having won the Candidates and led India to a gold medal in the Chess Olympiad in Hungary earlier this year, while becoming the youngest player to reach a FIDE rating of 2750, he goes into the final as a firm favourite.
Ding Liren is an experienced horse in the race but has looked off pace lately, and it remains to be seen whether he can bring his A-game for the final.
The 32-year-old is the very best of what China has offered to the chess world. As the youngest-ever Chinese chess champion at 16 years, he also went on a 100-game unbeaten streak between 2017-18.
Format explained
Starting on November 25, 2024, the two finalists will play the classical format, in a best of 14-game.
The final will be played under a time control of 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the remaining moves.
The increment will be 30 seconds starting from move 41. If the score after 14 games is tied, tie-breaks will be played.
The finalists will play one match a day, and after every three matches, a rest day is provided for the players as well.
The fourteenth match will be played on 12th December 2024, with December 13 reserved for tie-breakers, if needed.
Tiebreaker round
In the event of a tiebreaker, the following formats come into play:
Rapid match: Four games with 15 minutes, allowing for ten-second increments.
Mini Rapid match: Two games with 10 minutes, allowing for five-second increments.
Blitz: Two games with three minutes, allowing for two-second increments.
Sudden-death Blitz: A string of one-off games until a decisive result is reached.
Prize money
There is a hefty prize money to win at the World Chess Championship 2024, with $2.5 million (approximately 20.8 crore INR) up for grabs.
For every game won, including games won by forfeit, the winner receives $200,000 (approximately 1.67 crore INR). The remaining prize money will be split equally between the two players.
In the case of a tie-breaker, the winner of the tie-breaker will receive $1.3 million (approximately 10.83 crore INR), and the runner-up will receive $1.2 million (approximately 10 crore INR).
When and where to watch FIDE World Chess Championship 2024?
The finals will be live-streamed on FIDE’s official channels, including their YouTube and Twitch channels.
Matches will start at 2:00 PM, IST.
As the stage is set for an unprecedented World Chess Championship showdown, the 2024 final promises to be a historic clash.
Whoever ends up with the coveted title, chess fans around the world are in for a thrilling spectacle over the next 20 days, as the battle for the crown unfolds in Singapore.
Comments are closed.