Magnus Carlsen launches Chessable Masters
12 of the world’s best taking part Whole show aimed at teaching chess Fans get a chance to challenge stars Stage 3 of $1m Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour First Indian competitor on tour $150k prize fund + spot in tour final An innovative new chess tournament designed to help fans improve their game is the next event in World Champion Magnus Carlsen’s $1 million online tour, it was announced today. The first Chessable Masters will be broadcast on chess24.com from June 20 to July 5 and feature 12 of the world’s best competing for a prize fund of $150,000 and a spot in the prestigious tour final. Carlsen is set to resume his epic rivalry with Hikaru Nakamura, the hugely-popular American streamer who is also the world’s top blitz chess player, while the winner of the last tournament, Russia’s in-form Daniil Dubov, will try to crash the party. However, throughout the super-strong Chessable Masters tournament the emphasis of every broadcast will be on education, interacting with viewers, and helping everyday chess fans get better at the game. Chess fans will be treated to: Regular “Banter Blitz” events for fans to play their heroes; Interactive chess challenges on chessable.com with prizes to win; World’s best chess authors get a stage to highlight their work; Huge discounts on educational material on Chessable; Much, much more! Viewers will also be invited to share their chess education stories under the hashtag #studychess and the best will be featured on chess24’s broadcast. Carlsen said: “I am proud to announce the next stage in the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour which I hope will bring something new for spectators and fans…The Chessable Masters will be an elite super-tournament but one in which you can get more involved, have fun, and improve your chess.” Photo: Lennart Ootes Magnus also evaluated his chances in the event: “As for me, I will be back determined to improve from the last event. My ambition is to win the Chessable Masters.” The event is named after Chessable.com, the world’s leading online chess training platform, and is the third leg of the inaugural Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour. Leg one was the most-watched online chess event in history with the coverage reaching 10 million people worldwide. It ended with Carlsen winning his signature Magnus Carlsen Invitational event, beating Nakamura in the final. Leg two, the Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge, attracted even more viewers and saw the champion knocked out in the semis as Dubov overcame Nakamura in the final. That event was broadcast live in 10 languages and hit a peak of 125,000 viewers online during the final. Now Carlsen, Dubov, and Nakamura will face an even tougher challenge as they are joined by world number two Fabiano Caruana. Number one players from China (Ding Liren), Russia (Ian Nepomniachtchi), Netherlands (Anish Giri), Azerbaijan (Teimour Radjabov) and France (Maxime Vachier-Lagrave) are also included. Three-time world blitz chess champion Alexander Grischuk, reigning European champion Vladislav Artemiev and India’s number 1 Chessable author and former Asian Individual Champion Pentala Harikrishna make up the star-studded line-up. Photo: Andreas Kontokanis Harikrishna, the first Indian player invited onto the Tour, said: “I am excited to be invited to play in Chessable Masters which is also part of Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour. I am happy to play against the world’s best players in online events during the lockdown. I am looking forward to putting on a good show!” Chessable.com is a member of Magnus Carlsen’s Play Magnus Group of companies. It offers interactive chess courses by the most renowned chess authors in the world, based on the latest scientific insights on learning. Interested users can start for free at chessable.com. Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour explainer: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1c1oiEkPyb1ZBuYBmb9-DEkzmY3foYZzk Format and scheduleThe format of the event will be very similar to the Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge, with two slight changes. The Preliminary phase will last 4 days instead of 3. The 12 players will be split into 2 groups of 6, which will play on alternating days, 5 rounds every day. Then follows the knock-out phase, which will have the same format as the current event, with one addition: if any match is tied 2-2, the players will play a 2-game blitz match and only then Armageddon. The schedule for this event: June 20-23 – Preliminaries June 24 – Rest dayJune 25-29 – Quarter-finals June 30-July 2 – SemifinalsJuly 3-5 – Final For more information on the Chessable Masters, visit the official tour and tournament website here: chess24.com/tour FOR MORE INFORMATION:Leon Watsonleon@chessable.com+447786 078770
Day 5: Carlsen and So on collision course
The semifinalists returned to action after the rest day ready to fight, as Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So took a commanding four-point lead over Levon Aronian and Fabiano Caruana respectively. The matches mirrored each other in results, as neither Caruana nor Aronian was able to find their footing and score a single win. Even with a big score discrepancy, neither match is in the bag as wins in games 11 and 12 will be worth three points each, leaving room for big comebacks. Tomorrow, the two Clutch Chess International finalists will be decided. Magnus Carlsen vs Levon Aronian 6-2 The World Champion was merciless yesterday, although the match could have taken a different turn had Aronian converted his big advantage with the black pieces in the first game. The Armenian Grandmaster collapsed in the time scramble, grabbing a poisoned pawn and resigning three moves later. In the second game, Carlsen opted for the Alekhine Defense, an unusual opening choice at the top level. Aronian was severely punished for leaving his king in the center for too long. After drawing a balanced game in round three, Aronian again missed chances in game four, the final encounter before the clutch games, letting his opponent escape unscathed. Carlsen extended his lead to 4 points with a kingside attack after his opponent failed to create active counter chances. Disaster could have really struck in the final game had the World Champion blundered in a completely winning position, allowing his opponent to get away with a perpetual. In the postgame interview, Carlsen expressed his satisfaction with both the result and the quality of the games, while Aronian shared his strategy for tomorrow of “going berserk” to keep his chances alive. Wesley So vs Fabiano Caruana 6-2 The two rivals met again a mere 12 days after the final battle in the inaugural Clutch Chess USA. In the first game, Caruana took a gamble with a risky opening that he described as a bluff but it still required precision from his opponent. So’s opening preparation was superb as was his play in the rest of the game. His win in the second game came as a result of Caruana’s mistake on move 66 when instead of equalizing the game with some tactics, the world number two went astray. The two games before the clutch portion were relatively quiet draws, with So being on the better side of it in game four. In the first clutch game, Caruana opted for another surprise in the opening, the Evans Gambit. He reached a winning position as his pieces moved to the kingside to attack his opponent’s exposed king. After letting the advantage slip, Caruana didn’t backtrack at the right moment, allowing his opponent to create a mating net himself. Caruana tried to squeeze water out of stone in the final clutch game but never had any realistic winning chances. In their postgame interviews, both players agreed that the match isn’t over with six points on the line in the final two games. So also observed that his opponent employed a different strategy in this match, surprising him in the opening. Text: WGM Tatev Abrahamyan You can watch the action LIVE at USChessChamps.com (official website) Press Contact: Rebecca Buffington rbuffington@saintlouischessclub.org