Chess: Looking for Magnus Carsen's next challenger
Holger Hank
April 18, 2021
The next challenger to titleholder Magnus Carsen at the next World Chess Championship is to be determined at an event in Yekaterinburg. This comes with the COVID-19 pandemic having led to a surge in interest in chess.
The next challenge to Magnus Carlsen will have to get past 7 opponents in YekaterinburgImage: Colourbox/S. Mironov
Advertisement
The second round of the Candidates Tournament of the World Chess Federation (FIDE,) which was interrupted in March 2020, is set to begin on Monday, with eight grandmasters to sit across the board from each other to determine who will play Magnus Carlsen for the world title in November and December.
"We are completely ready to start the Candidates Tournament," said FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, alluding to a meticulous hygiene plan and the fact that some players have already been vaccinated.
Last year, FIDE was sharply criticized for having started the tournament despite the COVID-19 pandemic – and being forced to abandon it halfway through. The risk of infection can't be completely ruled out, so a new regulation has been introduced: If a player tests positive for the coronavirus, said player is automatically eliminated.
Caruanda under pressure
All eight World Championship contenders go into next week's event taking with them the points they earned in March 2020, and they have only seven rounds to get through in order to earn the right to challenge Carlsen. Two players who were not seen as being among the favorites just over a year ago have now joined that group. Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi go into next week at the front of the pack with 4.5 points each. While the Frenchman's recent form hasn't been good, "Nepo" has had spectacular performances in online chess. The 30-year-old Nepomniachtchi has become something of a fan favorite, as he is always good for an entertaining contest – with spectacular defeats just as likely as spectacular victories.
Fabiano Caruana (right) was Magnus Carlsen's challenger at the 2018 World Chess ChampionshipImage: Getty Images/AFP/T. Akmen
Vachier-Lagrave and Nepomniachtchi have a one-point lead over the rest, who include world No. 2 Fabiano Caruana of the United States. Caruana, who lost to Carlsen in the last World Championship in 2018, will have to be at his best to close in on Vachier-Lagrave and Nepomniachtchi. His opening match on Monday against Vachier-Lagrave could well be decisive.
Anish Giri of the Netherlands has the reputation of being an overcautious "draw king" but he has recently attracted attention with his enterprising and, above all, successful matches. He is a legitimate dark horse to earn the right to face Carlsen.
Advertisement
Chess boom due to COVID-19
Whatever happens, the tournament in Yekaterinburg is likely to break spectator records – not on site but through the internet. Due to the pandemic, chess has developed into an online phenomenon. Portals like chess.com and Lichess, attract hundreds of thousands of players on a daily basis.
However, it's not just dedicated chess portals that are gathering viewers; chess has also become a hit on the gaming platform Twitch. The success of "The Queen's Gambit," a Netflix series about a fictional female chess player who embodies both chess skill and glamor has also contributed to this surge in the popularity of the game.
While the German Chess Federation and other national associations have been struggling to meet the demands of this chess boom, others, like world champion Carlsen have taken it in their stride. The world's No. 1 chess player now has his own company, "Play Magnus," listed on the Oslo stock exchange and he has built up a small chess empire in recent months.
Carlsen and his associates used the revenue generated by the IPO of "Play Magnus" to purchase an established chess platform and a well-known publishing house. Now his company organizes weekly online chess tournaments, attracting many new fans to their computer screens.
The only thing Carlsen really needs the World Chess Federation for now is so that he can officially be crowned world champion again. That can only be good for the brand.
Whoever comes through the matches in Yekaterinburg will be able to look forward to a lucrative showdown with Carlsen at the FIDE World Chess Championship in Dubai in November and December, when €2 million ($2.4 million) will be on the line. Even the 40% that the loser will take home amounts to a pretty good payday by anybody's terms.
World Chess Day: Why an ancient game still fascinates
Chess was long considered a fringe sport for nerds — until the Netflix series "The Queen's Gambit" triggered a boom. Covid lockdowns also attracted many to the board. The chess hype has since faded but lives on.
Image: Phil Bray/Netflix/Everett Collection/picture alliance
Global chess boom
Two years ago, the ancient game, invented around 600 AD, experienced a revival thanks to the 2020 Netflix series "The Queen's Gambit" about Beth Harmon, an orphan who becomes an internationally successful chess player. Internet searches for chess rules exploded, while there were reported record sales of chess sets and beginner books.
Image: Grenke Chess Open 2018
Chess under lockdown
Worldwide, restrictions during the COVID pandemic lured more people to the chess board. A welcome change of pace during lockdowns, people soon became hooked on the humble chess game. Most people play in private, much to the regret of the German Chess Federation, which would have liked to see more members in the clubs — where future professional competitors might be discovered.
Image: Robert Kneschke/Zoonar/picture alliance
Professional advice from a world champion
Maybe like Garri Kasparov? He held the title of World Chess Champion from 1985 to 1993, after which he parted company with the World Chess Federation (FIDE) because of a dispute. The Soviet-born player officially ended his career in 2005, still at the top of the world rankings. He helped out behind the scenes in "The Queen's Gambit": He designed the games and acted as an advisor.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/N. Shlamova
Berlin provides various backdrops
Although the series is largely set in the US, most scenes were shot in Canada and Germany. Berlin in particular served as a filming location due to its various backdrops. The orphanage where Beth grew up and learned chess was not located in Kentucky, but rather in the outskirts of the German capital. Filming also took place in the Friedrichstadt-Palast, the Bode Museum and the Altes Stadthaus.
Image: Phil Bray/Netflix/Everett Collection/picture alliance
Chess tutoring
Most of the cast couldn't play chess before filming began, so a hand double was desperately needed. However, leading actress Anya Taylor-Joy became an ardent chess fan during production — probably because she learned the game from one of the best chess players of all time.
Image: Netflix/dpa/picture alliance
German hand double for Beth Harmon
The hand double for lead actress Anya Taylor-Joy, who played Beth Harmon, also lives in the German capital. Chess grandmaster Filiz Osmanodja (12 years old in this photo dated 2008) provided the right moves on the board in close-ups of the hands. The now 24-year-old had to learn 18 chess games by heart for the role she garnered via an invitation on Facebook.
Image: imago sportfotodienst
Novel becomes bestseller - again
The series was based on a novel under the same title. The book has also benefited from the series' success. Written by American author Walter Tevis, it made it onto the New York Times bestseller list 37 years after its original publication once more. Tevis, however, did not live to witness his book’s renaissance. He died of cancer in 1984 - one year after "The Queen's Gambit" was published.
Image: hugendubel.de
Heath Ledger had planned film adaptation
Long before Netflix discovered "The Queen's Gambit," the late Heath Ledger had been planning a film based on the book. It would have marked the Australian actor's debut as director. An avid chess player himself, Ledger was fascinated by Tevis' novel. He had intended to cast Elliot Page for the role of Beth Harmon. Ledger died in 2008, before the project even took off.
Image: Getty Images
Chess legend as role model?
The role of Benny Watts — Beth's competitor, mentor and lover — and Beth's rise to fame are both reminiscent of US chess prodigy Bobby Fischer's life. He defeated Russia's Boris Spassky in the 1972 "Match of the Century," effectively ending Soviet dominance in chess. It was perhaps the last time the game thrilled so many people worldwide — until now.
Image: Getty Images/Allsport Hulton/Archive
Queen's Gambit: One of the oldest chess openings
The title of the novel and series is based on a chess opening of the same name. The Queen’s Gambit is one of the oldest proven move combinations of its kind. It was mentioned in the late 15th century in the "Göttingen Manuscript" and is still played today by chess players worldwide. Beth Harmon also plays this opening in the series finale.
