Here is everything you need to know about the FIDE World Chess Championship 2023, including the dates, schedule and where to watch!
The world of chess will go through a momentous time in history with the upcoming International Chess Federation (FIDE) World Chess Championship 2023.
Two of the world’s prestigious chess grandmasters, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren, will battle on the land of black and white to determine the new king of the chess world.
World Chess Championship 2023 will take place from April 7 to May 1 at the St. Regis Astana, Kazakhstan.
The championship will see a new world chess champion since 2013. This is after the current world champion, Magnus Carlsen, decided to not defend his title after winning the championship for the fourth time in 2021.
Because of his decision, the whole chess community absolutely buzzed with anticipation. The Candidates Tournament 2022 suddenly became more competitive as there were two empty spots at the World Chess Championship 2023.
The history between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren
Ian Nepomnoiachtchi is a strong candidate as he was the last person to challenge Magnus Carlsen in World Chess Championship 2021.
He later won the Candidates Tournament 2022 undefeated, securing his place in the 2023 championship.
Ding Liren, on the other hand, almost didn’t make it to the world stage.
He got into the Candidates Tournament 2022 at the last second after replacing Sergey Karjakin, who was previously disqualified from the tournament.
Ding Liren then makes the most of his opportunity, narrowly beating Hikaru Nakamura before securing second place in the tournament.
According to Chess.com, the two grandmasters have battled each other for a total of 52 matches. Ian Nepomniachtchi beat Ding Liren 3 to 2, with 8 draws in classical games.
| Game | Nepomniachtchi wins | Draw | Ding wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classical | 3 | 8 | 2 |
| Rapid / exhibition | 16 | 25 | 11 |
How does the World Chess Championship work?
The championship will be a best of 14 matches where the first person to reach at least a 7.5 score will win the World Chess Championship.
Chess colors for each grandmaster were first assigned at the opening ceremony. The colors will then alternate throughout the championship between the grandmasters. Ian Nepomniachtchi has received the white pieces for the first game.
The championship will use an increment time control where each game will be 120 minutes per side for the first 40 moves and 60 minutes for the next 20 moves. The rest of the game will then get 15 minutes per side, with a 30-second increment per move starting with move 61.
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If both grandmasters reach a tie at the end of the match, they have to then battle it out in a rapid chess playoff for the tiebreaker.
Tiebreakers are surely going to be an intense moment. The first tiebreaker will be a match consisting of four rapid games.
If the score is still equal after the rapid match, the grandmasters have to play a mini-match of two blitz games.
If both match result in yet another draw, a single game with faster time control will be played. The last tiebreaker game will be repeated until either player wins a game.
FIDE World Chess Championship 2023 Schedule
The matches will start on April 9 and end on April 30 if the series goes into tiebreakers. Furthermore, there will be one game per day with a break every two days. The games will start at 9:00 a.m. UTC every match day.
- 7 April: Opening Ceremony
- 8 April: Media Day
- 9 April: Game 1
- 10 April: Game 2
- 11 April: Rest day
- 12 April: Game 3
- 13 April: Game 4
- 14 April: Rest Day
- 15 April: Game 5
- 16 April: Game 6
- 17 April: Rest Day
- 18 April: Game 7
- 19 April: Rest Day
- 20 April: Game 8
- 21 April: Game 9
- 22 April: Rest day
- 23 April: Game 10
- 24 April: Game 11
- 25 April: Rest Day
- 26 April: Game 12
- 27 April: Game 13
- 28 April: Rest Day
- 29 April: Game 14
- 30 April: Tiebreaks
- 1 May: Closing Ceremony
Where to watch the World Chess Championship?
You can watch the championship on FIDE’s YouTube channel over here.
Moreover, you can also follow the tournament’s live game board on the FIDE World Chess Championship’s website.
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A lineup of grandmasters is going to be the commentators for the historical event. The eight-time US Women’s Champion Irina Krush will be the main commentator.
Joining her for the first four games will be five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand. Furthermore, the fifth game onward will be joined by former World Rapid Champion Daniil Dubov.
When the last king falls to his knees, whoever it might be, we will finally crown a new world chess champion. Stay tuned to Gamelevate for more chess news.
