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Press release by the official website
The FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship is back with its second edition. The over-the-board final will take place at the Berjaya Natura Hotel in Reykjavik, Iceland, from 25-30 October 2022.
In 2019, FIDE officially recognized the World Fischer Random Chess Championship. In the final of the inaugural edition, held in Norway, American Grandmaster Wesley So defeated classical chess champion Magnus Carlsen. The two-year pandemic hiatus put the organization of many major chess events on halt, and we're excited to announce the second edition of the Championship is taking place this year.
Opening package: 1.b3 and Black Secrets in the Modern Italian
Wesley So published two new opening DVDs: 1.b3, the so called Nimzo-Larsen-Attack, for White and his black secrets in the modern Italian. Get them in a package and save money!
"I am so excited to be competing in Fischer Random again! And in Iceland! It couldn’t be more special than to compete in that particular place, defending my title against the best players in the world. To play in Reykjavik, fifty years after the match between Fischer and Spassky, gives it a historical perspective that cannot be matched," commented Wesley So.
Magnus Carlsen facing Wesley So | Photo: Lennart Ootes
The overall prize fund of the final in the Icelandic capital amounts to a whopping 400,000 USD. Eight players will have a shot at the 150,000 USD first prize and the FIDE Fischer Random World Champion title. Three of the four invitees are already confirmed. They are the defending champion American grandmaster Wesley So, the world's top-ranked grandmaster Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, and the strongest Icelandic grandmaster Hjorvar Steinn Gretarsson. The fourth player will receive the wild card from the FIDE President.
The four directly seeded players will be joined by the four winners of the online qualifiers on Chess.com and Lichess.org, two from each site: Vladimir Fedoseev, Matthias Bluebaum (chess.com), Hikaru Nakamura and Nodirbek Abdusattorov (lichess.org).
The finals will consist of a two-group stage followed by the knockout semifinals and final. The time control will be 25 minutes per player for the first 30 moves, after which each player will receive additional 5 minutes on the clock and an increment of 5 seconds per move.
The top-class playing hall at the 2019 edition in Norway | Photo: Lennart Ootes
The Championship in Reykjavik will be broadcast live by NRK, the largest media organization in Norway and FIDE's long-term partner, and RUV, Iceland's major national broadcast company.
As in 2019, the final will be organized by Dund AS, a Norwegian shareholding company. Lichess qualifiers were organized with the support of Offerspill Sjakklubb, Charlotte Chess Center, and the North American Corporate Chess League.
Fischer Random is a chess variant invented by legendary Bobby Fischer, 1972-75 World Chess Champion. The game’s rules are the same as standard chess, but the starting position of pieces is randomly shuffled. It reduces the impact of opening theory and makes players contemplate game development from the first moves.
Meanwhile, 1.b3 has also found its way into the practice of today's world elite, and now finally a modern top ten player has taken on the subject for ChessBase: none other than Grandmaster Wesley So!
