The 2024 World Chess Championship began on Monday (24/11). The tournament, which will define the world champion, is played between the Chinese Ding Liren and the Indian Gukesh Dommaraju, known as Gukesh D.
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When will the 2024 World Chess Championship be played?
The 2024 World Chess Championship starts on November 24, 2024 and ends on December 12. If necessary, tiebreakers will be played on December 13th. Every three game days, there will be a day off for chess players.
In the first game, held this Monday (11/24), Ding Liren beat Gukesh with the black pieces, playing a French Defense, Steinitz variant. On Tuesday (25/11), it will be Liren’s turn to use white.
How does the World Chess Championship work?
Ding Liren already had a guaranteed place to defend his title, as he was the world champion in 2023, beating Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi in the final. The tournament between the two was played after Magnus Carlsen, the world number 1, withdrew from defending his title.
Gukesh’s place was guaranteed after the 18-year-old Indian won the 2024 Candidates’ Tournament, a competition used to define who will challenge the current world champion. This made Gukesh the youngest champion of the Candidates’ Tournament and the youngest to be the challenger in a World Championship.
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In World Cup matches, each player will have 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, when a bonus of another 30 minutes is given. From the 41st move, 30 seconds are added to the clock with each move.
The tournament is played in a best of 14 games. Whoever has 7½ points at the end will be the champion. Each win gives one point to the winner, while a draw gives half a point each.
If at the end of the 14 matches there is a tie between Ding Liren and Gukesh D, a tiebreaker will be held. The first tiebreaker is four games in a quick format, that is, 15 minutes with an increase of 10 seconds per move.
If the tie remains, two more format matches are played, but with only 10 minutes on the clock, with an addition of 5 seconds per move.
If there is another tie, the time is reduced again to two blitz matches, with a time of three minutes and only a 2-second increment per movement.
If there is equality in both games, there will be a draw to decide who will start with the white pieces and then a series of blitz games will be held, alternating color, with a time of three minutes and 2 seconds increment. Whoever wins for the first time will be the world champion.
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What is the prize pool for the 2024 World Chess Championship?
The total prize pool for the tournament is 2.5 million dollars. Each player will win 200 thousand dollars – approximately R$1.157 million reais – for each victory and the rest of the money will be divided equally between the players. If the match goes to tiebreakers, the winner will receive 1.3 million dollars, with the runner-up earning 1.2 million dollars.
Who are the greatest world chess champions?
21 different players have held the title of world chess champions. German Emanuel Lasker and Russians Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov each have six title defenses. Next come the Russian Mikhail Botvinnik and the Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, with five defenses each. Carlsen, still active, could continue competing in the Chess World Cup, but gave up the title.
