For the first time since 2007, a new world champion will emerge in chess who is not named Viswanathan Anand or Magnus Carlsen.
The prestigious 2023 World Chess Championship is set to take place from April 7 to May 1 at the St. Regis hotel in Astana, Kazakhstan. The contenders: Russian grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi up against Ding Liren of China - a tussle between the world number 2 (Nepomniachtchi) and the world number 3 (Ding). Two deserving players, no doubt, but this particular match is only happening because of the designs of the world number 1 player.
Where is the world number 1 chess player?
Carlsen, reigning champion and arguably the greatest chess player of all time, decided to abdicate his title because he was 'not motivated' to play another championship match.
"I've spoken to people in my team, I've spoken to FIDE, I spoke to Ian as well. The conclusion is very simple: I'm not motivated to play another match. I don't have a lot to gain. I don't particularly like it, and although I'm sure a match would be interesting for historical reasons, I don't have any inclinations to play and I will simply not play the match," he stated on his podcast, in 2022.
Carlsen, who won the world chess championships five consecutive times since 2013, the last of which came after defeating Nepomniachtchi to win the 2021 edition, noted that he would only defend the title if the challenger was Iranian (who now represents France) Alireza Firouzja.
Carlsen's decision certainly surprised many, but a few, like former champions Anand, Vladimir Kramnik and Garry Kasparov understood why he took that step.
"My first thought was that I wished my mother were still alive to see someone else do what I did, or similar! Walking away from what everyone expects, or demands, you do takes courage. My sympathies are with Magnus. Of course, Magnus will still be playing -- he's playing right now in Zagreb. But he's doing what he decided is best for his goals, not just personally to live his creative life, but to promote chess without fighting with FIDE guys about how he spends his time," Kasparov tweeted.
The biggest news at the 2022 SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia was made off the board, with world champion Magnus Carlsen confirming he would not defend his title next year. (He's not retiring, just not playing the WCh match.) #GrandChessTour https://t.co/y2aH7v3Tdt
- Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) July 20, 2022
Has it ever happened before?
A reigning champion abdicating the crown? Technically, only once, when American legend Bobby Fischer decided against playing the 1975 championship match after disagreements with FIDE. In this scenario, FIDE awarded the title to Anatoly Karpov, the winner of the Candidates Tournament.
Additionally, the 1948 edition was played without the defending champion Alexander Alekhine, who died in 1946.
Ian Nepomniachtchi vs. Ding Liren
Nepomniachtchi qualified for the championship match after winning the 2022 Candidates Tournament in Madrid, Spain. He won the tournament undefeated with a round to spare and the highest score in any Candidates Tournament since the modern format was introduced in 2013.
After Carlsen made his decision public, FIDE invited Ding to play the match. Ding finished the Candidates Tournament in second place, behind Nepomniachtchi. While Nepomniachtchi is favoured to win the tournament, having already played Carlsen in the 2021 World Chess Championships, the case of Ding is more fascinating, considering he hadn't even qualified for the Candidates Tournament.
The world is holding its breath as two unstoppable minds prepare for immortality.
Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren will battle it out in the FIDE World Championship match for the ultimate chess title.7 April - 1 May, 2023https://t.co/L8H27I551N
#NepoDing pic.twitter.com/0Trxe5cDCP- International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) April 5, 2023
Russian GM Sergey Karjakin, who had originally qualified for the Candidates Tournament, was disqualified, and banned for six months for breaching the FIDE Code of Ethics after he expressed support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Later, the Chess Federation of Russia appealed the disqualification, but FIDE's Appeal Chamber upheld the original decision.
Following the ban, Ding was the highest-rated player who had not qualified so he was the best candidate to replace Karjakin. However, Ding hadn't played the required number of rated games because he couldn't travel outside China due to COVID-19 restrictions. Ding completed all those matches in a space of one month (March-April), with the help of the Chinese federation who arranged tournaments for him. He also maintained his rating throughout those matches and made it to the Candidates Tournament.
Nepomniachtchi and Ding are an interesting clash of styles, with the former's aggressive (some would say risky) style of play in contrast to the latter's more measured approach. The pair have faced each other plenty of times before with Nepomniachtchi having the edge in standard (3W, 2L, 9D) and rapid/blitz (8W, 3L, 2D) games.
Format and prize money
The World Championship match will consist of 14 classical games. The player who is the first to score 7.5 points will be declared the world champion. If the score is equal after 14 games, tiebreak games will be played with faster time controls -- rapid and blitz.
The time control for each game in the classical format will be 120 minutes per side for the first 40 moves, 60 minutes for the next 20 moves and 15 minutes for the rest of the games, with a 30-second increment per move starting with move 61.
The total prize money for the championship match is € 2 million. The amount will be split 60% and 40% between the winner and runner-up if a player achieves 7.5 points in 14 games. If the match goes to tie break, the amount will be split 55% and 45% between the winner and runner-up.