FIDE World Cup 2017

World Cup logo

The FIDE World Cup 2017 takes place in Tbilisi, Georgia from September 2nd to 27th. It is a 128-player knockout event played over seven rounds. The first six rounds consist of two-game classical mini-matches and (if necessary) a rapid and blitz tiebreak. The seventh and final round is a four-game classical match and (if necessary) rapid and tiebreak games.

Time Control

The time control for the classical games is 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 the scores are level after the regular games, after a new drawing of colors, two tie-break games shall be played. These games will have a time control of 25 minutes for each player with an addition of 10 seconds after each move.  If the match is still tied, two more games shall be played with a time control of 10 minutes plus 10 seconds increment after each move. In case of a level score, another match of two games shall be played with a time control of 5 minutes plus 3 seconds increment after each move. If still there is no winner, one sudden-death ("Armageddon") game will be played.

The top two finishers qualify for the 2018 Candidates Tournament.

Minimum Prize list

Round 1 losers: 64 x USD 6,000 (net 4,800) 
Round 2 losers: 32 x USD 10,000 (net 8,000) 
Round 3 losers: 16 x USD 16,000 (net 12,800) 
Round 4 losers: 8 x USD 25,000 (net 20,000) 
Round 5 losers: 4 x USD 35,000 (net 28,000)
Round 6 losers: 2 x USD 50,000 (net 40,000) 
Runner-up: 1 x USD 80,000 (net 64,000) 
World Cup winner: 1 x USD 120,000 (net 96,000)
Total: USD 1,600,000

Links

News

Posting: 1 - 12

ACM: Cat and Mouse with Vassily Ivanchuk

2/8/2018 – American Chess Magazine #5 is out, featuring a dashing Magnus "Clark Kent" Carlsen on the cover. The issue is packed with great stories, and we present the annotated game from Vassily Ivanchuk's World Cup run. That prompted ACM reader Art Jensen to send in this photo of his own cat "Taz" enjoying the article! The issue also includes reviews of two ChessBase DVDs.

Kovalyov case moves to Ethics Commission

10/7/2017 – It's tempting to make light of this affair by, for instance, referring to it as "the short(s) report". But when a tournament as prestigious as the FIDE World Cup is making international headlines for what amounts to dress code enforcement, it should be no laughing matter. We take a comprehensive look at the facts in evidence and Kovalyov's response to the previously published report. | Photo: Chess.com / Maria Emelianova (used with permission)

Who is Ding Liren?

9/30/2017 – World Cup runner-up, Ding Liren, the chess player, is well known to everyone. But what about Ding Liren the person. Not much is known about his personal life, his education, his likes, dislikes, hobbies, his girlfriend, daily routine, future aims and so on. It was with the aim to fill this void that IM Sagar Shah met with Ding after his World Cup 2017 journey and interviewed him. The answers of Chinese player show you the kind of person he is. To put it succinctly: his feet are firmly secured to the ground, but his mind thinks big and he aims high — very high! | Photo: Ding Liren's archives

World Cup 2017 Final, Tiebreak: Round-up show

9/28/2017 – Every evening at 9 pm CEST we offer you a round-up show of the games played at the World Cup in Tbilisi. Yesterday Daniel King showed the highlights of the tiebreak between Ding Liren and Levon Aronian. Aronian did win the World Cup for the second time in his life. Have a look here...

12 years later: Aronian wins the FIDE World Cup again!

9/28/2017 – Levon Aronian became the first person in the history of the game to twice win the 128 player knock-out World Cup. After the four classical games ended in draws, the action shifted to tiebreaks. Aronian was able to win both the 25'+ 10" rapids and thus clinched the World Cup title. The closing ceremony was held a few hours after the game was over. We have analysis of both the encounters, pictures from the games and closing ceremony and a huge list of videos that you can watch and feel as if you are in Tbilisi. | Photo: Amruta Mokal.

FIDE World Cup Final: Aronian wins tiebreak! (Express report)

9/27/2017 – After four draws in Classical games, we are now down to the tiebreaks. It's going to be two games of 25+10 followed by 10+10 if required, and then 5+3 and finally armaggedon. Games kick off at 13:00 CEST (7:00 AM EST) with live commentary from Tbilisi by GMs Evgeny Miroshnichenko and WGM Keti Tsatsalashvili and live updates by our reporters Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal.
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FIDE World Cup 2017: Die another day!

9/27/2017 – It could all have ended today had it not been for some heroic defence by Ding Liren. After getting an extremely bad position out of opening, it seemed as if the Chinese player had no chances of survival. But he started to make his moves quickly and confidently and Levon Aronian who was clearly under pressure, couldn't find the best possible way to make most of his advantage. With all the four classical games ending in draws we are now going into the tiebreaks to decide who will win the World Cup 2017. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

FIDE World Cup 2017: A mouth watering clash awaits!

9/26/2017 – In the third game of the finals of the World Cup 2017, Levon Aronian came up with an interesting idea in the Reti. He moved his queen four times in the first ten moves in order to hamper Black's development. But Ding Liren kept making simple and strong moves. The end result was a tame draw. We bring you not only detailed analysis, but also in-depth interviews with the players, photos of the venue, prediction for game four and video of 76-year-old Nona Gaprindashvili analysing chess with her youthful energy. | Photos: Amruta Mokal

World Cup 2017 Final, Game 2: Round-up show

9/25/2017 – Every evening at 9 pm CEST we offer you a round-up show of the games played at the World Cup in Tbilisi. Yesterday Daniel King showed the highlights of game 2 between Ding Liren and Levon Aronian. Who will win the World Cup in Tbilisi 2017? Have a look...

FIDE World Cup 2017: Aronian's masterful technique falls short

9/25/2017 – Game two of the World Cup 2017 Finals was a tense affair. Ding Liren's opening idea was swiftly neutralized by Aronian with black. It seemed as if the players would agree to a draw around move 30 mark, and call it a day. But Ding went wrong and the moment he did that Aronian started turning the screws on the position. Before you knew it, White had landed in a completely lost position. It was only through a miracle that Ding escaped. Detailed analysis of the game, photos, videos and more from Hotel Biltmore in Tbilisi.

FIDE World Cup Finals: Ding Liren's immaculate opening preparation

9/24/2017 – Grand! That's what the setting for the finals of the World Cup 2017 is! The venue is in the Biltmore Hotel, which is right in the heart of the Tbilisi. The playing arena is arguably the most exquisite that you will ever see. A lot of chess fans turned up to watch the first game. Levon Aronian and Ding Liren provided a good fight, but the Chinese player who had the black pieces hardly had any problems to hold the draw. He showed some solid opening preparation and surprised Aronian. Analysis, photos and interesting videos from the capital city of Georgia. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

Armenian Lion vs Chinese Dragon and tour of Tbilisi

9/23/2017 – Both of them have qualified for the Candidates 2018 by reaching the finals of the World Cup 2017. But as Aronian put it, "The main goal has been achieved, how about a little bonus!" Winning a major event like FIDE World Cup would be a great addition to the resume. We have the statistics of previous encounters between Aronian and Ding Liren and also a poll for you to let us know your opinion. Finally, do not miss the rest day pictures of the Jvari monastery and Svetitskhoveli Cathedral.
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