13 December 2018

Manege to Become Venue for King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Championships

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


The King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Championships-2018 will be held in Saint Petersburg on December 25-31.

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

A classical building of Manege was constructed by Giacomo Quarenghi in the beginning of the 19th century for the Imperial Horse Guards. Then it was used for various purposes depending on the epoch. In 1970s, the Saint Petersburg Manege housed the Central exhibition hall. Now Manege is a modern platform which is capable to host all kinds of projects. 

Real chess stars are going to take part in the events. Thus, the open starting lists are headed by the reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen (Norway), world strongest grandmasters Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan), Anish Giri (Netherlands), Viswanathan Anand (India), Levon Aronian (Armenia), Alexander Grischuk, Sergey Karjakin, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Peter Svidler (all from Russia), 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, Olga Girya (all from Russia), Humpy Koneru (India), Nana Dzagnidze (Georgia), Tan Zhongyi (China), and other well-known players will fight for the titles.

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

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.

Tournament page