Before the forthcoming championship in Weissenhaus, the World Chess960 title has been contested in a variety of formats, ranging from privately organised matches to fully fledged FIDE world championships with open qualification paths. The history of the event reflects the gradual institutionalisation of Fischer Random chess within the international calendar.
The first international Fischer Random tournament took place in Kanjiza, Serbia, near the Hungarian border. The 12-player round-robin combined rapid and blitz time controls: 25 minutes for the first 20 moves and 5 minutes for the remainder of the game. The event was won by the 17-year-old Peter Leko, who scored 9½/11 to finish half a point ahead of Yugoslav grandmaster Stanimir Nikolic.
In 2001, the first Fischer Random World Championship was staged at the Chess Classic in Mainz, Germany, an event conceived by Hans-Walter Schmitt. The initial edition consisted of an eight-game match between Peter Leko and Michael Adams. Although not originally billed as a world championship, the title designation was adopted in subsequent years following the establishment of the World New Chess Association in 2003. The match was played with a 25-minute rapid time control and was won by Leko.
In the years that followed, the championship adopted a structure linked to the concurrent Rapid World Championship in Mainz. A strong open tournament determined a challenger, who would then face the reigning champion in an eight-game match the following year. In 2007, the format changed to a double round-robin, with the top two players advancing to a final match. Over a nine-year period, four grandmasters won the title: Peter Leko, Peter Svidler, Levon Aronian and Hikaru Nakamura. The final edition was held in 2010, when Nakamura defeated Aronian. The series ended after funding for the Chess Classic was withdrawn.
Alongside the open championship, separate Women's Championship matches were held in 2006 and 2008. Alexandra Kosteniuk won both matches, defeating Elisabeth Paehtz and Kateryna Lagno respectively. Two decades later, Kosteniuk is set to face Bibisara Assaubayeva (born in 2004) in a Freestyle Chess exhibition match in Weissenhaus.
Levon Aronian, Hans-Walter Schmitt and Viswanathan Anand at the Chess Classic in Mainz | Photo: Hartmut Metz
Peter Leko, an even younger Vincent Keymer and Hans-Walter Schmitt in 2018 | Photo: Hartmut Metz
In February 2018, reigning Chess960 champion Nakamura played a 16-game exhibition match against the reigning classical world champion Magnus Carlsen at the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter in Bærum, Norway. The match used two time controls. The first eight games were played at 45 minutes for 40 moves plus 15 minutes thereafter, while the final eight were played at 10 minutes with a 5-second increment. The slower games were weighted twice as heavily as the faster ones. Carlsen won the match 14–10.
Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura get set for the blitz | Photo: Lennart Ootes
The FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship 2019 was the first edition officially recognised by FIDE. Qualification began online on chess.com in April 2019 and continued through several stages before the over-the-board semifinals and final were held from 27 October to 2 November at the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter in Bærum.
The first qualifying round was open to untitled players and took place online. The second round included the 160 qualifiers from the first stage as well as all FIDE titleholders, divided into 12 Swiss groups. The top seven from each group advanced, producing 84 players for the third round. These were divided into six groups of 16, each supplemented by two invited players, and played in single-elimination format to determine six quarterfinalists: Ian Nepomniachtchi, Alireza Firouzja, Vidit Gujrathi, Svidler, Vladimir Fedoseev and Wesley So. Two further players, Caruana and Nakamura, were seeded directly into the quarterfinals.
Quarterfinal matches combined slow rapid (45+15), fast rapid (15+2) and blitz (3+2) games, with different point weights assigned to each category. A repêchage system was included for players losing in the first round.
In the semifinals, So defeated Nepomniachtchi, while Carlsen overcame Caruana. In the final, So beat Carlsen 13½–2½ to claim the world title. Nepomniachtchi secured third place by defeating Caruana.
Semifinals
Finals and third-place match
Source: Wikipedia
Wesley So defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi in the semifinals | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Magnus Carlsen beat Fabiano Caruana in the semifinals, but was clearly defeated by Wesley So in the match for the title | Photo: Lennart Ootes
The 2022 championship followed a similar overall structure. Online qualifiers were held on both chess.com and Lichess, with open entry stages leading to knockout phases. Four online qualifiers - Vladimir Fedoseev and Matthias Bluebaum from chess.com, and Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Nakamura from Lichess - advanced to the over-the-board finals. They were joined by four directly seeded players: defending champion So, Carlsen, Nepomniachtchi (as FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich's wildcard) and Icelandic grandmaster Hjorvar Steinn Gretarsson, representing the host nation.
The final phase was held from 25 to 30 October 2022 at the Berjaya Reykjavík Natura Hotel in Reykjavík, Iceland. The eight players were divided into two groups of four, playing best-of-two double round-robin mini-matches. The time control was 25 minutes for 30 moves, followed by 5 additional minutes and a 5-second increment from move 31. Players were informed of the starting position 15 minutes before play and were permitted to consult a registered second beforehand.
Abdusattorov and Nepomniachtchi finished first and second in Group A, while Carlsen and Nakamura topped Group B. In the semifinals, Nepomniachtchi defeated Carlsen 3–1, while Nakamura beat Abdusattorov 3–0.
The final between Nakamura and Nepomniachtchi was decided in an Armageddon game after the four-game match ended level. Nepomniachtchi chose 13 minutes and draw odds with Black but was unable to convert his chances. Nakamura won the Armageddon game to secure the title. Carlsen finished third after defeating Abdusattorov in the placement match.
Semifinals
First, third, fifth, and seventh place matches
Source: Wikipedia
Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura having fun in Reykjavík | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Photo: Lennart Ootes
| Advertising |
