London Chess Classic FIDE Open

[Derrick Walker]

The Isle of Wight tourmaments early next year have made what I think is the dubious decision to use a faster move rate for the second section.

That's certainly the case for the weekend tournament, the International Masters and U2000 that precedes it have went with the increasing entry fee for lower rated players but the same 90+30 rate. At present about a quarter of the players in the Masters are U2000.

[LawrenceCooper]

I couldn't see another thread for the Classic so I'll mention here that the all-play-all includes Mamedyarov, Vitiugov, Adams, Jones, Wenjun Ju and Shreyas Royal with two players to be confirmed.

[Joey Stewart]

It might be good if they could get one of the top Indian players to fill those last gaps - would ensure lots of coverage of the festival online if they got a big name like erigaisi, vidit or Praggnanandhaa (gukesh might be a bit difficult to persuade at that time)

[John Upham]

A PR from Leon Watson:


"Chess at the Emirates: Britain’s premier tournament to be staged at Arsenal’s iconic stadium

Arsenal FC’s iconic Emirates Stadium will make a move away from football next month to host Britain’s most prestigious chess tournament.

Eight of the world’s top chess grandmasters will compete in the 2024 XTX Markets London Chess Classic (LCC) from November 29 to December 7. The line-up includes:
• Women’s world champion Ju Wenjun
• England’s number-one Nikita Vitiugov
• British champion Gawain Jones
• England’s youngest-ever grandmaster Shreyas Royal
• 8-time British champion Michael Adams
• Former World Rapid champion Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
• Two more stars to be announced

The elite round-robin event carries a £50,000 prize fund. The tournament will take a break for a rest day on December 4 when Arsenal play Manchester United at home. The chess tables will be back out the following day as the tournament resumes.

The 14th LCC is the flagship event organised by the charity Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC). Previous winners include legends of the game such as former world champions Magnus Carlsen, Vishy Anand and Vladimir Kramnik.

Defending champion Michael Adams, the eight-time British Chess Champion and former world number-four, is competing in his 14th LCC having featured in every edition since 2009.



An impressive field of masters is also expected to battle for the £10,000 first prize in the nine-round FIDE Masters classical tournament, which will be held alongside the main event.

Other events scheduled to take place alongside the LCC include:
• The FIDE U-2000, a 9-round classical chess tournament for players rated U-2000.
• The LCC Festival, giving opportunities for players of all standards to compete in classical and blitz tournaments
• A Schools’ Festival, offering hundreds of children the chance to learn more about the game and experience a world-class chess tournament
• A variety of fun events each evening including GM simultaneous displays, variant tournaments, and chess lectures
• The ProBiz Cup in which our Grandmasters team up with leaders of business in an alternate-move contest
• The LCC Dinner at The Dorchester, raising funds to support the work of Chess in Schools and Communities.

The festival of chess will culminate in a Super Blitz tournament on Saturday, December 7 featuring the eight grandmasters competing in the LCC, invited guests and qualifiers.

Play in the LCC’s elite event starts at 4pm GMT daily with live commentary on YouTube and Twitch and the tournament website londonchessclassic.com.

Spectator tickets are available for each day’s play. The event will also be available to watch online with commentary.




International Master Malcolm Pein, Chief Executive of CSC, said:

"The London Chess Classic is the UK’s premier chess tournament and it deserves to be in an iconic sporting venue with fabulous facilities for players and spectators.

“The 14th edition will see the players demonstrating their skills in both the Classical and the faster-paced Blitz format. Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC) is delighted to welcome XTX Markets as our new sponsor.

“It will provide a great opportunity for the new generation of UK chess prodigies to test themselves against the best as well as enabling children from CSC’s programme in state schools to see their heroes.”

Past winners:

2009: Magnus Carlsen (Norway)
2010: Magnus Carlsen (Norway)
2011: Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)
2012: Magnus Carlsen (Norway)
2013: Hikaru Nakamura (United States)
2014: Viswanathan Anand (India)
2015: Magnus Carlsen (Norway)
2016: Wesley So (United States)
2017: Fabiano Caruana (United States)
2018: Hikaru Nakamura (United States)
2019: Ding Liren (China)
2021: No individual event held
2023: Michael Adams (England)

About Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC):

Chess in Schools and Communities is a UK-wide charity founded in 2009, whose mission is to improve children’s educational outcomes and social development by introducing them to the game of chess. We run over 1,000 projects in schools, libraries and prisons and a world-class tournament, the London Chess Classic, each December.

About XTX Markets:

The London Chess Classic is supported by XTX Markets, a world-leading algorithmic trading firm delivering quality liquidity across financial markets. "

[Paul Cooksey]

I see Joey got his wish, Vidit is playing.

I enjoyed LCC as a spectator in the past and will visit for one or two days.

[Joey Stewart]

I see Joey got his wish, Vidit is playing.

I enjoyed LCC as a spectator in the past and will visit for one or two days.

Nice to see my ideas being listened to, I'm sure Malcolm Pein himself was reading the forum and thought what a great publicity plan, I must remember to thank Joey next time I see him- now they can guarantee the tournament will get showcased on chessbase India which could potentially be streamed to literally millions of people.

[LawrenceCooper]

I see Joey got his wish, Vidit is playing.

I enjoyed LCC as a spectator in the past and will visit for one or two days.

Andrew Hong is the final player: https://www.londonchessclassic.com/elite

[Joey Stewart]

That's quite a seemingly random final choice of player, I wonder what the reasoning behind his invite was ?

[Dave Lightfoot]

The Isle of Wight tourmaments early next year have made what I think is the dubious decision to use a faster move rate for the second section.

That's certainly the case for the weekend tournament, the International Masters and U2000 that precedes it have went with the increasing entry fee for lower rated players but the same 90+30 rate. At present about a quarter of the players in the Masters are U2000.

The Isle of Wight Masters, U2000 and Congress Open are 90+30.
The Congress U1850 and U1550 are 75+30

(Note the U2000 is one flat fee of £65 for Men, £45 for Women, it does not differentiate on rating as mentioned above).
The Masters does have a sliding scale, if it didn't it would already be full with 90% U2000 players and would not offer norms.

The clock difference was on the basis that lower rated players might want to watch the Masters after their games. However now the tournament is 100% DGT board for all sections. It's likely easier to have uniform clock times so I will review this with the Arbiters and see if we can change to 90+30 across all.

[LawrenceCooper]

From the tournament website:

"As of 12th November 2024, there are no places left in this tournament. We expect a few places to become available before the start of the tournament - if you would like to be added to the waiting list please email: [email protected]"

https://www.londonchessclassic.com/fide-masters

[Roger de Coverly]

From the tournament website:

"As of 12th November 2024, there are no places left in this tournament.

Which is a little odd, as the U 2000 is still open to entries. Perhaps it's two separate spaces rather than as at Olympia one combined one.

[Paul Heaton]

Which is a little odd, as the U 2000 is still open to entries. Perhaps it's two separate spaces rather than as at Olympia one combined one.

That too now listed as full

[Nigel White]

From the tournament website:

"As of 12th November 2024, there are no places left in this tournament. We expect a few places to become available before the start of the tournament - if you would like to be added to the waiting list please email: [email protected]"

https://www.londonchessclassic.com/fide-masters

Looking at the declared entries across both the Masters and the U2000, they only number 135 players in total. If I recall correctly, this is less than a third of the capacity in the main hall when the event used to be held at Olympia.

[Roger de Coverly]

Looking at the declared entries across both the Masters and the U2000, they only number 135 players in total.

Is it known, when if at all they will be releasing additional places?

If events are likely to have capacity issues, should these not be announced with the tournament?

[Paul Cooksey]

First round underway with commentary by the mighty Peter Svidler and the also present Laurence Trent https://www.youtube.com/live/jK0xhCHmQaY