Koneru, Praggnanandhaa, Vaishali set to compete in Norway Chess 2024

STAVANGER (Norway): Indian Grandmasters Koneru Humpy, Vaishali Rameshbabu and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu are set to compete in the 12th edition of the prestigious Norway Chess scheduled to take place from May 27 to June 7 at SR-Bank’s main building in Stavanger, Norway.
The event will feature world number one Magnus Carlsen (Norway), world number three Hikaru Nakamura (USA), current World Champion Ding Liren (China), Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun (China), Lei Tingjie (China) among others.

Popularly known as the ‘Wimbledon of Chess’, Norway Chess annually extend invitations to top grandmasters from the world rating list. However, within the top 100 players globally, no women are listed. Women have been scarce in top-level private competitions due to limited invitations and unequal prize money. Hence, to address this issue and set a new benchmark for gender equality, Norway Chess has introduced the world’s first-ever equal female tournament this year.

The Norway Chess women’s tournament, to be held in the same hall concurrently, with the same number of players as the Norway Chess, will have the same format and an equivalent prize fund. Norway Chess aims to provide women chess players with more opportunities and a comparable prize fund, fostering participation and giving a platform to aspiring female chess players.

In this landmark edition, the brother-sister duo of Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali will make their debut in the Norway Chess and the Norway Chess Women’s Tournament respectively, a Norway Chess release said.

While Praggnanandhaa is only the second Indian to reach the final of the FIDE Chess World Cup, Vaishali is the third woman in India to achieve the Grandmaster title. Both are the first brother-sister duo to earn this distinction. Notably, Praggnanandhaa was the winner of the 2022 Norway Chess International Open Tournament. He remained unbeaten throughout the nine rounds, recording 7.5 points to clinch the title.

Koneru Humpy the current world number two in the women’s category and India’s number one woman chess player who won the FIDE Women’s rapid chess championship in 2019 will be vying for top honours at the inaugural Norway Chess Women’s Tournament.

Speaking about the inaugural Norway Chess Women’s Tournament, five-time world champion and Indian legendary Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, who has competed in the Norway Chess in the past said, “Norway chess is focused on making the game more spectator-friendly and accessible.

They experiment a lot with the format and time controls. They are very innovative in this area. I welcome their attempt to help popularise the women’s game by having an equal prize fund for the women this year. Always a tournament to look forward to both as a spectator and as a participant.”

Welcoming the participants from India, Benedicte Westre Skog, Co-owner and Project Manager, Norway Chess, said, “India is certainly a chess powerhouse, having produced top-level chess talent over the years. With young Indian talented players doing wonders on the global stage, Chess is growing at a rapid pace in India. It is one of our key markets to tap in. We feel fortunate to have Indian GMs taking part in Norway Chess over the past years. We are looking forward to hosting the Indian debutants Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali, as well as Koneru, and our best wishes to them.”

List of participants at Norway Chess 2024

Men’s Category

1. Magnus Carlsen (Norway), 2830, World No. 1
2. Fabiano Caruana (USA), 2804, World No. 2
3. Hikaru Nakamura (USA), 2788, World No. 3
4. World Champion Ding Liren (China), 2776, World No. 4
5. Alireza Firouzja (France), 2765, World No. 6
6. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (India), 2748, World No. 11

Women’s Category

1. Koneru Humpy (India), 2554, World No. 2 among women
2. Lei Tingjie (China), 2550, World No. 4 among women
3. Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun (China), 2547, World No. 5 among women
4. Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine), 2525, World No. 7 among women.
5. Vaishali Rameshbabu (India), 2481, World No. 14 among women.
6. Pia Cramling (Sweden), 2437, World No. 31 among women.
*Format and scoring information

Format: Double Round Robin

Time control: 120 minutes with an increment of 10 seconds after move 40. In Armageddon, White gets 10 minutes, Black 7. After move 41, there is a 1-second increment.

Scoring: 3 points for a classical win, 1.5 for an Armageddon, 1 for an Armageddon loss. (ANI)