Magnus Carlsen launches elite online tournament amid coronavirus lockdown

Just as the world of elite chess looked to be facing checkmate as a result of coronavirus cancellations, world champion Magnus Carlsen came up with a novel solution to see if anyone could beat him during the lockdown: a $250,000 tournament to be played entirely online.

The 29-year-old Norwegian prodigy is preparing to launch the “Magnus Carlsen Invitational”, the world’s first computer-based professional chess competition for elite grandmasters, people familiar with the proposal for the tournament told the Financial Times. 

The competition will be screened online through the Chess24 website, which Mr Carlsen partially owns, and will pit the grandmaster himself against other top players including China’s Ding Liren and Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi. 

The pitch is a significant departure for a cerebral sport which has — despite its huge online fan base, with 70m playing regularly via the internet — until now largely resisted holding professional tournaments by computer.

But it comes as interest in chess online is soaring even higher as a result of virus lockdowns. Already in the past two weeks, Chess24’s usual traffic has increased by 500 per cent. 

The move is a potentially lucrative gambit for Mr Carlsen, one which could disrupt the tightly-controlled — and politically byzantine — world of tournaments and their sponsorship rights presided over by chess’s global governing body, the International Chess Federation (FIDE).  

Chess24 hopes to initially raise up to $500,000 in sponsorship fees for further events this year, if the plan is a success. 

“Chess is unique in the sports world, as the moves are the same whether played on a wooden board or a computer screen,” said Mr Carlsen.

“This is a historic moment for chess . . . we have not only the opportunity but the responsibility to players and fans around the world who need a distraction and when no other live, competitive sport is being played.”  

Last week, FIDE was forced to cancel the Candidates Tournament in Ekaterinburg, Russia, as the Kremlin suspended all flights into the country. The winner would have earned the right to challenge Mr Carlsen for the world title. 

Cracking the business of chess has proved notoriously difficult until now. Despite the sport’s huge fan base — as many as 650m play it globally, FIDE estimates — many companies have foundered as sponsorship and tournament rights have changed hands, and promises of monetising online users have failed to gain traction. 

Mr Carlsen’s prominence — he is one of the few figures in chess with a celebrity profile beyond the game’s community — will lend his new proposed online-only tournament significant credibility. To prevent cheating, players in the Magnus Carlsen Invitational will be using computers issued by Chess24. Each player will be physically monitored by two cameras. 

The rules of the tournament have also been adapted to maximise the games’ appeal to online viewers: with rules forcing competitors to make rapid moves and play aggressively. 

“FIDE is very excited to see this happening,” a spokesperson for the governing body said of the new tournament. “This variety can also have its place in the chess ecosystem.”