World Chess and FIDE Ask The Chess Community to Suggest a City to Host the Grand Prix Series

World Chess, a media and gaming company that organizes the 2022 FIDE Grand Prix Series in collaboration with the International Chess Federation, announced its search for the best city to host the series.

For the city which ends up hosting the events, it means 45 days of top-level chess over the course of three months and public programs that celebrate the sport that usually accompanies top-level chess tournaments.

World Chess organized the World Championship matches and other events in New York, London, Hamburg, Sharjah, Sochi, and other cities and became famous for using design and public relations to bring chess events into the spotlight. Its controversial ‘Chess Kama Sutra’ logo of the 2018 Championship became one of the most talked-about logos in sports and earned an honorable mention in the Cannes Design Awards.

“We are choosing the city to host this amazing series together with the chess community. It has grown in the last several years, and we, as chess organizers, simply want to bring it where the chess fans are. It’s only fair to give a voice to those who have made chess huge — to those who love the game and enjoy it”, — says Ilya Merenzon, CEO of World Chess. “We are so excited to talk to everyone — to the players, to the federations, to the clubs, and the organizers. Frankly, this conversation is long overdue”, — adds Merenzon.

All chess fans get the chance to cast a vote for the city they love:

1. Vote on the World Chess website: here.
2. World Chess social media accounts will feature daily polls and surveys, where all users can cast their opinion.
3. Post videos and pictures (after all, this is the age of TikTok!) of the most chess-friendly places in your city with the hashtag #NewChessCapital and tell us why it should become the next chess capital.
4. Share your options via Telegram chatbot @ChessCapital.
5. Join the stream with Rey Enigma on Twitch and share your options for the new chess capital in the comments section.

Anish Giri: “Amsterdam, for me, is the perfect city to host a tournament”.
David Navara: “There are many nice and comparatively easily accessible places where I played well-organized events, for example, Biel (Switzerland), Prague (Czech Republic), Wrocław (Poland), Berlin and Baden-Baden (Germany), Paris (France) or some Spanish city.”