Latest news with #WorldRapidandBlitzChampionships
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Chess player Sara Khadem on making the tough moves in life
Stavanger, Norway: In early 2020, after her passport was confiscated resulting in a temporary travel ban from Iran, Sara Khadem didn't know what to do with her life. The Covid pandemic extended the frustration, and forced Sara to even ask her husband, an Iranian movie director who worked at an advertising company then, for a job in his office. Chess was the farthest from her mind for the International Master. 'I stopped looking at chess,' Sara said. 'I was thinking of what else I can do.' Five years on, she is among the six women featuring in a strong field in the ongoing 2025 Norway Chess Women. This invitation has helped rekindle her motivation, which had gone missing during a period of upheaval and uncertainty. The trickling test of a six-month travel ban and the pandemic grew into a storm when, in 2022 at the World Rapid and Blitz Championships in Kazakhstan, Sara refused to wear a hijab. Amid protests in Iran against the mandate for women and heightened tension, Sara, with her husband and one-year-old son, moved to Spain on a residence visa. Now representing that country, she has not returned to Iran since, where an arrest warrant awaits her. 'When you cannot even travel because your own government bans you and they tell you it doesn't matter, like your whole career doesn't matter because we are thinking of something else, then you will reach a point where you don't want to stay,' Sara told a group of journalists here. Sara acknowledged she received support in Iran during her chess journey, and still does from the public. Her thought of emigrating wasn't correlated to what happened in Kazakhstan (it was 'because of my son and the situation in the country'), but not returning to Iran was. 'My first option was to still play for Iran and live outside. Then I realised this wasn't practical because I cannot play in any of the tournaments like the Olympiad and World Cup. I just came to the point where I realised it's not my fault,' she said. Sara isn't the first chess player from Iran to take this route. GM Alireza Firouzja also left Iran protesting the country's boycott of Israel players. He now represents France. 'He had some political issues too, and it's going to be the same (going forward),' Sara said. 'For girls, especially, it's more difficult. If I had to stay in the national team, I had to wear the scarf in order to be able to go back. When I knew this (switching to Spain) was an option for me to decide what I want to do, Iran didn't make sense to me. But still, changing the federation was very difficult. Because I like to play for Iran. I like my country. It wasn't about the country.' Abandoning that country, her family and setting up a life outside – Sara now resides in Marbella – did take its toll. Chess, after her pre-pandemic years of collecting the Grandmaster norms, took a backseat. It even went, as she put it, 'backwards'. 'It was very hard. That's why you don't see me playing so much,' she said. And she is okay with that, in a sport where every day is a race of the ratings. 'I don't want to miss the first years with my son,' Sara said. 'I know a lot of players care about their careers a lot. But I want to make a balance.'
Qatar Tribune
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
FIDE announces €1mn prize for World Rapid & Blitz Chess
Doha The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has announced a series of format enhancements and a one million euro prize fund for the 2025 World Rapid and Blitz Championships. Set to take place in Doha, Qatar, the World Rapid and Blitz Championships have become one of the most prestigious events on the international chess calendar since their official launch in 2012. Traditionally held in the last week of the year (from 26 to 31 December), the event attracts the best players in the world, including current world champions Gukesh Dommaraju and Ju Wenjun, as well as the world's top-rated player, Magnus Carlsen, and a host of other heavyweights in both the Open and the Women's competition. 'We are very much looking forward to hosting the chess world in Doha and are happy to see FIDE has introduced important enhancements to the regulations,' said Mohammed Al Mudahka, President of the Qatar Chess Association. 'We are committed to supporting chess, as we have shown with the Qatar Masters which has become one of the most prestigious chess tournaments globally. Doha also successfully hosted the World Rapid & Blitz Championships in 2016, and we are proud to welcome this flagship event back to our capital, further strengthening our place on the global chess map.' For the 2025 edition, the prize fund has been set at one million euros (approx. 1.125 million USD), maintaining the high financial standard of recent editions and reaffirming FIDE's commitment to top level competition. The total will be split between the Open and Women's events, with €700,000 allocated to the Open section — evenly divided between the Rapid and Blitz tournaments — and €300,000 for the Women's section, also split equally. A new knockout format for the Blitz The two-day Blitz World Championship is the most watched and the most dramatic chess event of the year. In 2024, FIDE introduced a new knockout format in the Blitz that brought even more excitement to the event. In a significant structural shift, for 2025 FIDE is introducing a more streamlined knockout stage in the Blitz events in the Open and the Women's sections. Only the top four players from the Swiss stage of the tournament will advance directly to the knockout semifinals (previously, eight players in both competitions qualified for the knockout). 'The new format is an exciting mix of the Swiss system and knockout. The increased number of rounds in the qualifying part ensures that the strongest players will progress to the knockout. Also, the final match-up is ideally scheduled to suit audiences across all major chess hubs,' FIDE CEO and Grandmaster Emil Sutovsky said. 'We are very excited about the event, and have already started preparations to produce the best quality broadcast for millions of spectators,' Sutovsky added. The Blitz schedule includes 19 Swiss rounds for the Open and 15 Swiss rounds for the Women, both played over two days, followed by semifinals and finals on December 30. The format for the Rapid World Championships remains unchanged, with 13 rounds in the Open and 11 in the Women's competition, culminating in a playoff in case of a tie for first place. 'With rapid and blitz formats gaining global popularity, the field is deeper and more competitive than ever,' said FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich. 'These format enhancements aim to make the event more dynamic while preserving the sport's integrity and excitement for both players and fans.'
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First Post
14-05-2025
- Sport
- First Post
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. read more 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. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD FIDE announces revamped format for Blitz championship 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. 'The new format is an exciting mix of the Swiss system and knockout. The increased number of rounds in the qualifying part ensures that the strongest players will progress to the knockout. Also, the final match-up is ideally scheduled to suit audiences across all major chess hubs. 'We are very excited about the event, and have already started preparations to produce the best quality broadcast for millions of spectators,' FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky was quoted by as saying. 'These format enhancements aim to make the event more dynamic while preserving the sport's integrity and excitement for both players and fans,' said FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich. Qatar capital Doha will be hosting the World Rapid and Blitz Championships from 26 to 31 December this year. The previous edition that took place in New York City witnessed the infamous 'Jeansgate' scandal in which world No 1 Magnus Carlsen found himself embroiled in a massive controversy for showing up during the Rapid tournament in a pair of jeans, and subsequently getting penalised after refusing to change into a pair of formal trousers. Carlsen also made headlines for the wrong reasons during the Blitz championship as well for sharing the title with Russian Grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi after a viral backstage video showed the two having a chat, with the Norwegian chess icon allegedly telling his opponent to play out a series of draws and force FIDE to hand the trophy to both of them. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy, meanwhile, had been crowned women's world rapid champion – becoming only the second player to win the title more than once.
New York Times
03-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Magnus Carlsen's controversial jeans sell for $36,100 at auction
The jeans chess player Magnus Carlsen wore when the world No 1 withdrew from a tournament over its dress code have been sold in an eBay auction for $36,100 with proceeds going to charity. Carlsen, and the Coreliani jeans he was wearing, made headlines at the World Rapid and Blitz Championships in 2024 in December when the five-time world champion initially quit the New York tournament after officials had deemed he had broken its rules on clothing. Advertisement The Norwegian was fined $200 and asked to change. When he refused to do so, he was subsequently not paired for the ninth round. Last month, Carlsen posted on X: 'The forbidden jeans — can now be yours. I am auctioning my jeans. A sentence I never thought I would write. But here we are.' OOTD — Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) December 28, 2024 The Norwegian said at the time he had worn the jeans for a meeting and 'didn't even think' about wearing different trousers for the tournament. He said he had offered to change for the following day but that was not accepted. A few days later, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) announced Carlsen would return for the World Blitz Championship, with president Arkady Dvorkovich confirming that while the official dress code would remain in place it would be relaxed to accommodate 'elegant minor deviations'. After 10 days on eBay, the jeans, which retail at a few hundred dollars, were sold with proceeds going to youth mentoring charity, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA). 'Chess has long been a favorite activity for Bigs and Littles in our program. It creates opportunities for mentorship, critical thinking, and lifelong connections,' Artis Stevens, CEO of BBBSA, said, as reported by 'With the proceeds from this auction, Big Brothers Big Sisters will expand its efforts by organizing chess clinics, community events, and more, equipping youth with essential skills to navigate life's challenges.' Carlsen is considered one of the finest chess players in history and in addition to his five world chess championships is also a five-time world rapid champion and an eight-time world blitz champion.
