First Leg of FIDE Grand Prix Series Officially Opened in Moscow
16 grandmasters to compete in a knock-out event.
The Opening Ceremony of the first leg of the FIDE Grand Prix Series 2019 organized by World Chess took place in the Mansion of Saltykov-Chertkov on May 16.
Many celebrities and journalists attended the Gala Event which opened the first tournament of the World Chess Championship cycle 2019-2020.
CEO of World Chess Ilya Merenzon, CEO of PhosAgro and RCF Vice-President Andrey Guryev, and Head of Corporate Sales Department of Kaspersky Lab Evgeniya Naumovagave speeches during the official part of the Ceremony. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich declared the tournament open.
Chief Arbiter IA Laurent Freyd (France) conducted the drawing of lots at the technical meeting before the Ceremony. Four players with the highest standard rating at the beginning of the tournament – Anish Giri, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Ian Nepomniachtchi, and Alexander Grischuk - had been given starting numbers 1, 16, 9, and 8 respectively. For the purpose of distribution of other twelve starting numbers, the random drawing of lots was made at the technical meeting.
The draw of colours took place at the Opening Ceremony. The rating favourite Anish Giri picked a white (or silver) piece and that means that all players with odd numbers will start the first round with White.
Round 1 pairings:
Giri - Dubov
Radjabov - Nakamura
Duda - So
Karjakin - Grischuk
Nepomniachtchi - Aronian
Wei Yi - Jakovenko
Vitiugov - Svidler
Wojtaszek - Mamedyarov
The Gala Event was concluded with a performance by Daniil Nikitin’s Jazz Trio.
The Moscow Grand Prix will be held in the Central Chess Club, an historic building in the center of Moscow (Gogolevsky Boulevard, 14), from May 17 to 30.
Making the series even more exciting, each tournament will have a knock-out format, starting with 16 players. To win a Grand Prix, a player will have to survive four rounds. Each round will consist of two classical games, followed by faster tie-breaker games if necessary.
The FIDE Grand Prix Series will be broadcast on worldchess.com as well as on top media sites globally. There will be free live video and commentary, organized by FIDE and World Chess.
Photos from the Opening Ceremony
Photos by Vladimir Barsky and Eteri Kublashvili
