FIDE and Chess.com to Hold Online Nations Cup

The event to start on May 5.

The International Chess Federation and Chess.com announce the Online Nations Cup, a team competition held May 5-10, 2020. Six teams are due to take part in this competition: Russia, USA, Europe, China, India, plus a team representing the "Rest of the World."

The Online Nations Cup is a team championship showdown, where six teams of four players each will fight under a rapid play format, for a prize fund of USD 180,000. 

The first stage, a double round-robin with the six teams, will take place on May 5-9. The top two teams will then play in a Superfinal on Sunday, May 10, to determine the FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup champion. The games will be played in a rapid format, where each player begins the game with 25 minutes on their clock, plus 10 seconds of extra time added after each move.

Two retired legends, Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik, will be the captains for the European and Indian teams respectively. A former world championship rival of both of them, Vishwanathan Anand, will defend the first board of the Indian team. Full team compositions will be announced later.

CFR President, Head coach of the Russian national men's chess team Andrey Filatov: "Online chess tournaments acquire special importance during a global lockdown when all traditional sports events are cancelled. That's why I would like to thank FIDE for organising such an interesting and respectable event, which will attract the best chess players in the world. 

Both our men's and women's national teams are in the preparation process before the World Chess Olympiad, which was postponed to the year of 2021. Of course, the Online Nations Cup is not a substitute for the Olympiad but it is a great opportunity to estimate our players' shape and state. We regard this tournament as a very serious challenge and will try to show our best play. I hope that the forthcoming event will help all the chess lovers experience bright and positive emotions, which we are all lacking this difficult time. 
 
It seems to be symbolic that the Nations Cup is taking place in the course of the celebration of the Victory Day, the most important event of the 20th century. United Nations celebrated victory against the Brown Plague 75 years ago. The historical example shows us that the unification in the face of a serious threat is the only means to overcome it. I wish good luck and robust health to the participants and chess amateurs!"

Information on Fide.com