SINGAPORE: Singapore beat India’s New Delhi and Chennai to win the rights to host the World Chess Championship for the first time.
The 2024 tournament will take place between Nov 20 and Dec 15, pitting world champion, China’s 31-year-old grandmaster Ding Liren, against India’s 18-year-old grandmaster Dommaraju Gukesh.
Four possible venues are being considered for the encounter in Singapore, with a final decision to be made later, said the International Chess Federation (Fide) in announcing Singapore’s successful bid on Monday (Jul 1).
This will be only the second time in the championship’s 138-year history that it is held in Southeast Asia, the first being in Baguio, the Philippines, in 1978.
“Chess is not just a popular game and sport; it is often seen as the epitome of the human mind’s ability to think strategically, to plan, and to foresee,” said Fide CEO Emil Sutovsky. “Singapore embodies these same qualities.”
The Singapore Chess Federation (SCF) said the country is a “ideal location” for the match, with its experience in hosting sporting and cultural events.
“We also have a growing chess community in the country, evidenced by increasing participation numbers in scholastic events, newcomers to the game, as well as improvements in sporting results in the last few
years,” said Mr Kevin Goh, CEO of SCF, which submitted the bid in partnership with Sport Singapore and the Singapore Tourism Board.
The Fide World Championship match is held every two years. It features the defending world champion and a challenger, chosen through a qualification process culminating in the Candidates Tournament, which includes eight of the world’s top players.
Ding and Gukesh, the youngest challenger in championship history, will vie for the crown over a best-of-14 format.
The event will be accompanied by other events, including other tournaments and exhibition games.
More details will be announced in the coming weeks.
