Kortchnoi Zurich Chess Challenge Supertournament Announced

It will take place on April 12-17.

The lineup for the upcoming event is already known for the most part – only one spot is still vacant and will be granted to the winner of the Nutcracker Generation Tournament. The invited players: Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), Vishy Anand (India), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France), Hikaru Nakamura (USA), Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia), Peter Svidler (Russia), Yannick Pelletier (Switzerland). 

The supertournament will be carried out in two parts, with different time controls. The first half is called “The new classical” – 45 minutes plus 30 seconds per move for each player. The second half is somewhere in between blitz and rapid – 10 minutes plus 5 seconds per move. Classical games bring 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw, speed games bring 1 points for a win and 0.5 points for a draw. 

Alongside the main event, a large 7-round open tournament Kortchnoi Open will take place (time control – 90 minutes plus 30 seconds per game). The organizers expect about 150-200 participants.

Both events will be played at the Congress Hause Zurich, which hosted the famous Candidates tournament of 1953. 

The opening ceremony of the Kortchnoi Zurich Chess Challenge will take place on April 12. The world famous musicians will recite – Boris Andrianov (cello), Dmitry Illarionov (classic guitar), Ilya Gringoltz (violin), and Leonard Schreiber (violin). A blitz tournament between the participants, serving as drawing of lots, will follow on the same day.

Organizers: Zurich Chess Club, Oleg Skvortsov (International Gemological Laboratories, Moscow), Aviora Holding AG Baar, Savoy Chess Corner Zurich, and other chess enthusiasts and philanthropists. 

More details will be published in January 2017 on the tournament website  www.zurich-cc.com. 

Photos by Vladimir Barsky