Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
Calling the roster of players a who’s who of chess is almost a disservice, since it is more than just a list of the top-rated players, it is also a chance for lesser known players, or young talents, to take a spin on the massive roulette and see how they fare.
The tournament is a knockout format with mini-matches of two games played at 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an addition of 30 seconds per move from move one. If no winner emerges, then a third day will decide via tiebreaks, starting with two rapid games of 25 minutes plus ten seconds, and if no winner yet then two games at ten minutes plus ten seconds, then two games of five minutes plus three seconds, and finally, if still neither player was able to claim victory, a sudden death game.
Complete 2015 World Cup regulations
The seventh and final match will be of four games that otherwise follow the same structure as the previous rounds with the same tiebreak system. At the end of this event that can take as many as 16 standard games, not only will the winner take home the trophy and check for $96 thousand, but the two finalists will be seeded into the World Championship Candidates tournament, in which the winner will earn the right to challenge Magnus Carlsen for the world title.
The 2013 edition was won by Vladimir Kramnik over Dmitry Andreikin
Note: the colors of game one will be determined in the opening ceremony
The official website has already been launched, with a countdown until the start