Chinese Ding Liren and Russian Yan Nepomniachy will fight for the title of world chess champion from April 7 to May 1 at the St. Petersburg stadium. Regis from Astana (Kazakhstan), FIDE reports.

Ding Liren and Jan Nepomniachy, a match for the title of world champion

The opening ceremony will take place on April 7, and the players will begin their matches on April 9. The games start at 15:00 local time (GMT+6) and there will be a day of rest and rest after the two rounds.

The main winner (best of 14 matches) will be crowned in Bucharest in May to participate in the Superbet Chess Classic Romania 2023, the first stage of the international Grand Chess Tour.

FIDE formed a team of three commentators for the competition, which will be headed by the American chess player Iryna Krush for the eighth time. Next to her will be Viswanathan Anand, a 5-time world champion, and Daniil Dubov, who is considered by many to be one of the most creative grandmasters, writes News.ro.

Garry Kasparov sees an intense fight for the title of world champion

In a short video posted on the social networks of the International Grand Chess Tour, Garry Kasparov, co-founder of the tournament, also mentioned the upcoming confrontation for the title of world champion in Astana, after which the first stage of the tournament will take place. GCT, Superbet Chess Classic Romania 2023.

The practically future world chess champion will be crowned in Bucharest, where he will play his first match as the best player on the planet. The stages in Poland and Croatia also feature Magnus Carlsen, world champion from 2013 to 2022, but who refused to defend his title this year.

“Who would I bet on?! Well, they are both very good, it will be very tight, a few years ago I would have said Dinh, but now, after the pandemic, it could be anyone. Nepo (Nepomniachy) played more, he even has World Cup experience, he lost, but that still gives him a slight edge. Ding is probably more stable… But I repeat, it is very, very tight” – Garry Kasparov for GCT.

Having been dethroned as the greatest chess player of all time, Kasparov also appreciated the presence of Magnus Carlsen, who he still considers the strongest chess player in the world, even if he did not defend his title in 2023.

“This is a very interesting situation for the Grand Chess Tour, because we will have a new world champion and the strongest chess player on the planet in the same tournament and at the same time. But maybe this is what we need now (not in GCT), something sensational, more adrenaline” – Garry Kasparov.

The Grand Chess Tour (GCT), one of the strongest international chess tournaments with a total prize fund of 1.4 million dollars, has announced the nine chess players who will be present in Bucharest for the first of five stages of the tournament. The organizers assure that of the four competitions organized so far in Bucharest, this year’s Superbet Chess Classic Romania has the strongest line-up.

Last year’s winner of the tournament, Alireza Firuja, will be in attendance along with the two competing for the world title in April. Very soon, the list of nine will be supplemented by a tenth chess player, who will take part in the tournament for a wild card.