World Rapid and Blitz Championships 2022: all you need to know
On December 25th, the World Rapid and Blitz Championships will kick off in Almaty, Kazakhstan, with over 300 elite chess players from 50 countries gathering to compete from December 25th to 31st.
Tournament schedule:
December 25 — Opening Ceremony,
December 26-28 — Rapid competition,
December 29-30 — Blitz competitions and Closing Ceremony.
Format:
In rapid chess, each player begins the game with 15 minutes, and 10 seconds are added to his/her clock after each move. In blitz chess, each player begins the game with 3 minutes, and 2 seconds are added to his/her clock after each move.
Prize Fund
The grand prize pool is worth $1 million, with $700,000 awarded to the Open Championships and $300,000 to the Women’s Championships.
Current title holders:
🏆Nodirbek Abdusattorov for Rapid,
🏆Alexandra Kosteniuk for Women’s Rapid,
🏆Maxime Vachier-Lagrave for Blitz,
🏆and Bibisara Assaubayeva for Women’s Blitz.
Top Participants:
Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Anish Giri, Hikaru Nakamura, Alexander Grischuk, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Yu Yangyi, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Humpy Koneru, Bibisara Assaubayeva, Aleksandra Goryachkina, Zhongyi Tan, Kateryna Lagno and others.
Carlsen — Niemann situation
GM Hans Niemann has become a household name as he is currently involved in a lawsuit with both Carlsen and Nakamura. Their recent game ended with Carlsen resigning after one move, leaving many to speculate how this will affect Carlsen’s chances of winning the rapid or blitz tournaments. Carlsen is a renowned chess player, having already won both tournaments in the past, and is still considered the favorite to win again. The total prize fund for the event is a generous $1 million, with Carlsen likely to be a top contender for the grand prize.
