From the 10 to 21 October, the Isle of Man will host one of the most important events in the FIDE World Championship cycle - the ‘FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss’. With 160 participants, including the World Champion Magnus Carlsen and many of the top-ranked world players taking part, the Grand Swiss is expected to be one of the strongest Swiss-system tournaments ever played.
The 11-round tournament is part of the 2019-2020 FIDE World Championship cycle. The winner will qualify for next year’s eight-player Candidates’ Tournament, which will produce the challenger for the title of World Champion. In addition to qualifying for the Candidates’ Tournament, the winner will also take home $70,000, while the total prize fund is $433,000.
The opening ceremony is scheduled for the 9 October at the COMIS Hotel and Golf Resort near the Isle of Man’s capital, Douglas. The event will be opened by FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich and the Chief Minister of the Isle of Man, Howard Quayle MHK.
FIDE President, Arkady Dvorkovich: “This is going to be one of the most important and exciting chess events of the year and I’m very much looking forward to the games. Before it became part of the official FIDE chess cycle, the Isle of Man chess tournament had already made a great impact on the chess world and helped to promote the game. It is a pleasure to join efforts with the team who started this tradition, and we are delighted it is being held at such a beautiful place as the Isle of Man.”
The tournament director is Alan Ormsby (Isle of Man), the chief arbiter IA Alex Holowczak (England), the Fair Play officer is IA Andrew Howie (Scotland). The FIDE Press Officer for the event is Milan Dinic. The games will be broadcast live on www.Chess.com, with their team of experts providing commentary for the audience.
The time control for each game is 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 50 minutes for the next 20 moves, and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move one. The games cannot be drawn by agreement before Black’s 30th move.
Next to the Grand Swiss, there will also be Major and Minor tournaments, with local and international players of all levels taking part.
IOM International Chess Limited:
Tournament Director Alan Ormsby
masters@iominternationalchess.com
+44 7624 453200
Chess.com:
Director of Esports and Events Nick Barton
nick@chess.com +1 8326223010
FIDE:
Chief Communications Officer David Llada
press@fide.com +34 680312625
