Gukesh, a young chess player from Tamil Nadu won the FIDE Candidates Chess Championship in Canada. With this victory, it was announced that Gukesh would face the reigning chess champion, Chinese player Ding Liren, in the final of the World Chess Championship later this year. However, the venue of the final has not been announced.
In this case, it was announced that the final of the World Chess Championship will be held in Singapore. It has been announced that the competition will be held from November 20 to December 15 this year in Singapore. But to get the hosting rights to host the World Chess Championship Final in India Chennai and applied on behalf of the cities of Delhi. Singapore won by beating these two cities.
The Tamil Nadu government had directly submitted an application and expressed its desire to hold this championship series in Chennai. At the same time, the central government gave its full support to Delhi to host this important tournament.
In an interview with The Indian Express, FIDE CEO Emil Sudovsky told The Indian Express how Singapore won the right to host the World Chess Championship final. Talking about this, he mentioned that the neutral location was the main factor for it.
“Neutrality was very much a factor in deciding which city would get the hosting rights for the World Championships. But one cannot win a bid by being a neutral venue. Singapore was also a very strong bidder in many respects. Neutrality is a key criterion when comparing bids from competing cities.” said Emil Sudovsky.
There were opinions that it would be in Gukesh’s favor if the tournament was held in Chennai, his hometown, or Delhi, the capital of his country. However, things each city must specify in their bid include how broadcasting revenues and other commercial revenues will be shared with FIDE, where the tournament will be held, who is sponsoring the bid (central government, state government or wealthy private companies or individuals), where players and other FIDE personnel will be staying. , what is the plan for broadcasting, etc. should be mentioned in the application.
“We did not disclose the details of the financial agreement regarding the percentage of rights. In terms of budget and financial support, I can say that all bids were more or less in the same category,” said Emil Sudovsky.
He also said that FIDE decided to host the series in Singapore to rekindle chess interest in the Southeast Asian region. In the 1990s, Singapore’s neighboring countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia hosted the tournament. In 1993 Anatoly Karpov vs John Timmons World Chess Championship match was held in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. At the same time Manila hosted the Chess Olympiad in 1992.
Speaking about this, Emil Sudovsky said, “We found it important to promote chess in Southeast Asia. They have not had the opportunity to host a major tournament for more than 30 years. We see India as an important country. We look forward to bringing one of FIDE’s most important tournaments to India in 2025. We are already working on it and are looking into sharing the details very soon.” He said that.
The World Championship is scheduled from November 20 to December 15. The air quality in India’s capital is very poor during the two months of November and December. Delhi’s month-wise average daily air quality index was 373 in November and 348 in December, according to data released by the Press Information Bureau. On November 6, 2023, the city’s air quality index touched 421.
A range of 401-500 is classified as poor. While anything in the 301-400 range is considered very poor. Press Information Bureau data noted that 2023 saw the second-worst November wind in the capital since 2018 (only 2021 was worse). It also reported that the monthly average air quality index in December 2023 was the lowest in the five years since 2019.
“Climatic criteria is one of the criteria that determines the possibility of hosting the tournament in any city. But nowhere at the top of the list,” clarified Emil Sudovsky.
🇸🇬 Singapore will host the 2024 FIDE World Championship Match ♟️ 🏆
⚔️ The defending World Champion, 🇨🇳 Ding Liren, will battle it out against the Challenger, 🇮🇳 Gukesh D. The Match, which boasts a sensational prize fund of 💰 2.5 million USD, is set to take place between 🗓️… pic.twitter.com/2fL93Gpq6J— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) July 1, 2024
While both Chennai and Delhi bid, Chennai for the auction DMK supported by the Government of Tamil Nadu led by At the same time, the NDA-led central government expressed its support for holding in Delhi. Thus, FIDE wanted to avoid becoming embroiled in a political tug-of-war.
“Both cities, Chennai or Delhi, will not be neutral anyway. So, this is not about internal Indian politics. The venue of the final is yet to be confirmed and there are four venues in Singapore. We have explored those four different venues. All of them are of high quality. Final decision in July. will be taken,” he said.
A press release from FIDE said Singapore’s bid was submitted on May 31, with site inspections to be held on June 11 and 12. Although Singapore is a neutral place, it has a sizeable Indian and Chinese population. This will increase the interest in chess in that country.
According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, there are about 6.5 lakh Indians (NRIs and PIOs) living in Singapore. The country also has a significant population of Singaporean citizens of Indian origin. According to a 2023 survey by the Singapore Department of Statistics, 74 percent of Singapore’s population are Chinese citizens. At the same time, 9 percent of the citizens are of Indian origin.
Gukesh and Ding are confirmed to participate
Emil Sudovsky also revealed that both Gukesh and Ding Liran have agreed to play in the World Championship. There was speculation that Ding would lose his title as he was in a fragile emotional state since becoming world champion.
“Both have signed a contract to play. It’s a detailed contract, the city, exact dates and schedule will be announced later,” said Emil Sudovsky.
The World Chess Championship is held every two years. There are 14 games between the reigning world champion and the challenger selected through the Candidates Tournament. The player who scores 7.5 points or more wins the match. If the score is tied after 14 games, the winner will be decided by tiebreak.
