For years the world No 1, Magnus Carlsen, tried to attain a 2900 classical score however he at all times peaked 10-20 factors wanting the spherical determine. The Norwegian, 34, had a private better of 2889, achieved in 2014. That was 33 factors forward of Garry Kasparov’s highest determine and 100 forward of Bobby Fischer. Carlsen made later makes an attempt however may by no means get previous the 2880s, whereas the numbers had an eerie similarity to the 28,000s and 29,000s on the high of Everest the place George Mallory and Andrew Irvine perished in 1924.
Within the new Freestyle score checklist Carlsen at 2909 is almost 100 factors forward of Hikaru Nakamura in second place, along with his efficiency boosted by his excellent 9/9 at Grenke Karlsruhe. In distinction, the Fide world champion, Gukesh Dommaraju, ranks a lowly twenty sixth with 2701 factors.
Carlsen will hope to keep up his new score subsequent month when the third leg (of 5) of the Freestyle $3.75m Grand Slam takes place on 16-20 July at Wynn Las Vegas. The sector of 16 will embrace a lot of the normal high names however there can be specific curiosity in a single who may end up a celebration pooper.
Hans Niemann, the 22-year-old whose sport with Carlsen on the 2022 Sinquefield Cup led to a $1m lawsuit, was invited to the Paris leg of the Freestyle Grand Slam however withdrew for undisclosed private causes. Now, having turned down the straightforward entrance, Niemann has bought in by a a lot more durable route, qualifying for the Las Vegas leg by profitable a 16-player knockout the place he defeated 4 top-class opponents, together with the previous world classical champion Ding Liren. Niemann has additionally proven considerably improved ends in chess.com’s Titled Tuesday, the place, in current weeks, his performances have matched these of Carlsen and Nakamura.
Chess prior to now 5 years has loved highly effective boosts. Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit and its heroine, Beth Harman, had been a viewing success, the Niemann v Carlsen lawsuit was broadly publicised, Carlsen’s persona is in style, whereas the main chess web site, chess.com, has tens of millions of blitz video games performed every single day and lichess.org can be very profitable.
As a consequence, the incomes of the highest 10 or 20 grandmasters have soared from occasions just like the St Louis organised Grand Chess Tour and the $3.75m Freestyle Grand Slam. This 12 months, for the primary time, the Esports World Cup, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will embrace chess (10-minute video games with none per-move increment and a $1.5m prize pool). In 2026 Fide’s $2m official world championship collection will resume centre stage, as India’s Gukesh defends his crown towards the winner of the eight-player Candidates.
In the meantime, again in Britain, participation stays excessive however monetary returns don’t match the stellar numbers. A brand new survey from chess.com reveals that its UK on-line membership has reached an astonishing 8.9 million gamers, behind solely the US (43.9 million) and India (20.4 million).
This stratospheric determine is 600 occasions that for the membership of the English Chess Federation, which in 2023 was formally 14,567. Worse for the ECF, the £500,000 authorities grant for elite chess, which Rishi Sunak launched in 2023, was axed fully as a part of the Treasury’s departmental cuts on the finish of April 2025. One consequence of that is that the rewards for taking part in success in Britain don’t examine with the large quantities on provide in world occasions.
Subsequent month’s English Championship in Warwick (18-21 July) provides £2,000-£1,250-£750 for its high three, whereas the week-long British Championship in Liverpool from 31 July to 9 August has £5,000-£2,500-£1,500. The very best ever British Championship first prize was £8,000 in 2011.
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There’s an apparent occasion which may make a giant distinction, and must tempt a few of the tens of millions of UK residents who play solely on-line blitz on chess.com to attempt a day of over-the-board blitz chess as properly.
That is the UK open blitz championship, which was launched in 2023 and is now in its third 12 months. Full particulars for the match might be discovered right here. The UK blitz championship makes use of a 3 minutes per sport plus a two-second per transfer increment, which can be probably the most regular time management for chess.com blitz video games.
The championship could have 16 one-day regional qualifying tournaments in August and September, adopted by a one-day ultimate at Leamington Spa on 22 November.
The one-day qualifiers can be in London (three occasions at Golders Inexperienced, Hampton, and Harrow) Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield and Southampton. Many masters and grandmasters are anticipated to participate. The overall prize fund can be in extra of £10,000.
To enter any of the qualifiers, click on right here.
3978: It’s mate in six by 1 Rg6+! hxg6 2 Rxg6+ Kh7 3 Rg2+! Kh6 4 Qe3+! Kh5 5 Qxe5+ Kh4 6 Qg5 mate.
