Website of King Salman Rapid and Blitz Championships 2018 Opened

Event to take place in Saint Petersburg on December 25-31.

Dear chess friends,

We are happy to announce that the official website of the King Salman Rapid and Blitz Championships 2018 is opened - https://wrbc2018.com/en/.

On the official website, you may find all the necessary information about the tournament, which will be held in Saint Petersburg on December 25-31.  

Real chess stars are going to take part in the events. Starting lists of the open tournaments are headed by the reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen (Norway), world strongest grandmasters Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan), Anish Giri (Netherlands), Viswanathan Anand (India), Alexander Grischuk, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Sergey Karjakin (all from Russia), Levon Aronian (Armenia), Hikaru Nakamura (USA), and other top players. 

In the women's events, the reigning Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun (China), Anna and Mariya Muzychuk (both from Ukraine), Kateryna Lagno, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Aleksandra Goryachkina, Valentina Gunina (all from Russia), Humpy Koneru (India), Nana Dzagnidze (Georgia), and other well-known players will fight for the titles. 

In 2017, Viswanathan Anand won the King Salman World Rapid Championship, while Magnus Carlsen became the strongest in blitz. The women's titles were gained by Ju Wenjun and Nana Dzagnidze respectively. 

The World Champion Magnus Carlsen has already expressed his intention to win back the rapid champion's title. "I'm going to take back the triple throne – no usurpers are going to be allowed", said the Norwegian grandmaster.

The venue is Manege, the largest exhibition space in central Saint Petersburg. Address: 1, St. Isaac's Square. 

An extensive additional programme, which will include tournaments for children and adults, solving contests, acquaintance with the RCF Chess Museum's exhibits and many other activities, will be organized during the Championships. The entrance is free for visitors. 

Schedule: December 25 – Pre-start press conference, Opening Ceremony, Technical meeting, December 26-28 – World Rapid Championships, December 29-30 – World Blitz Championships and Closing Ceremony. 

The Opening Ceremony will take place in Manege and will start at 7:30 p.m. The entrance is for participants and accredited journalists only. 

The rounds begin at 3 p.m.; the games on the final day start at 2 p.m. (Moscow time). 

The total prize fund is USD 1,150,000.