One of the most significant events of the past year is the International Chess Championship, which will be held in Almaty, and Lancaster Group has officially sponsored this event, which will bring together the best chess players from around the world. Such events provide a unique opportunity for adults and children to gain invaluable experience, as well as promote intellectual sports, which certainly have a beneficial effect on the younger generation.
The tournament is held under the auspices of FIDE and the Kazakhstan Chess Federation will be held at the Palace of Sports and Culture named after M. Baluan Sholak. From December 25 to December 30, 2022, leading chess players from 50 countries will compete for world titles.
The championship is supported by the Almaty Mayor's Office and the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The prize fund is $1 million.
176 men will take part in the open tournaments and 98 in the women's tournament.
Freedom Broker is the general partner of the World Cup, providing the entire prize pool. The tournament's partners are also Samruk-Kazyna JSC, the SportQory Sports Support Fund, Shokan Ualikhanov School, the domestic startup Chess Legends, Polymetal, and Tioline.
The favorites of the Open Championship are current world champion Magnus Carlsen (Norway, with a rating of 2859 on the December list), Hikar Nakamura (USA, 2768), Fabian Caruana (USA, 2766), Ian Nepomnyashchy (FIDE, 2793), Anish Giri (Netherlands, 2764), Alexander Grischuk (FIDE, 2745), Shahriyar Mammadmeda Yarov (Azerbaijan, 2740), Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland, 2729), Yu Yangyi (China, 2728), current champion Maxim Vachier-Lagrave (France, 2737 - Blitz) and other award-winning chess players.
The strongest among women are Alexandra Goryachkina (FIDE, 2584), Katerina Lagno (FIDE, 2563), Hampi Koneru (India, 2572), Tan Zhongui (China, 2518), Nana Dzagnidze (Georgia, 2517), Harika Dronavali (India, 2507), Zhansaya Abdumalik (Kazakhstan, 2496), Saravali Sadat Hamedalsharyeh (Iran, 2490), Antoaneta Stefanova (Bulgaria, 2442), Alexandra Kosteniuk (FIDE, 2520 — Rapid) and Bibisara Asaubayeva (Kazakhstan, 2440) and others.
In total, about 250-300 top players from around the world are planned with an ELO rating of at least 2550 for men and 2250 for women, plus national champions. Kazakhstan will be represented by all the strongest players.
Commentators in Kazakh, Russian and English will work on a special platform especially for viewers. On the air, we will hear party reviews from international grandmasters Murtas Kazhgaleev, Vladislav Tkachev, and Olzhas Mengali. Foreign commentators will also work.
Tickets for the large-scale chess festival can be purchased on the Ticketon website; admission is free for children. In addition, the tournament will be covered on global online platforms, including chess24.com and chess.com.
