FIDE World Chess Championship Match 2018 was opened on November 8th with a press conference at historic London venue The College in Holborn.

The world’s most prestigious chess tournament Running 12 matches, organized by FIDE and World Chess, the Championship will see Norwegian World Champion Magnus Carlsen go head to head with US challenger Fabiano Caruana in London between 9 and 28 November 2018.

Chess followers can now observe the Grandmasters at The College, a breath-taking historic building with a number of authentic Victorian features including furnishing, marble reception areas and a show-stopping glass-dome roof in the heart of London.

The organisers, with the ambition of making the World Chess Championship Match one of the world’s most interesting events in chess history, offer unprecedented experience for fans coming to London to watch the games live: public program, chess entertainment, official souvenir shop, new limited edition merchandise, and much more. Spectators will also be able to view the after-game press conferences and listen live to commentary by the the world’s strongest chess players and experts — Judit Polgar and Anna Rudolf. The College will have comfortable viewing areas: depending on the type of ticket — General admission or VIP — guests can follow Grandmasters’ games on two floors. All games start at 3pm UK time.

Tickets for the World Chess Championship Match 2018 are selling quickly, but some rounds are still available at: https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/World-Chess-Championships-tickets/artist/5274704.

Those following the games online will also be catered for; they will be able to watch the moves for free on worldchess.com/london, the official broadcasting platform. They can also sign up for a $20 premium account, giving fans access to multi-camera views, commentary, behind-the-scenes footage, the opportunity to ask questions during press conferences and more.

Opening to a 200 strong crowd of media from around the globe the conference included comments from reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen, US challenger Fabiano Caruana, newly elected FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, CEO of World Chess Ilya Merenzon and Vice President and Member of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Chess Federation, CEO of PhosAgro Andrey Guryev.

When asked if he thinks chess is experiencing a modern revival US challenger Fabiano Caruana said, ”Chess has unquestionably become a lot cooler. There are lots of people in the celebrity and music world who are interested in chess so I definitely think its gaining more exposure and making it more accessible to a wider audience”

When asked if he stills consider himself an underdog the reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen said, “It’s been a while since I’ve considered myself an underdog. To be honest if you’ve been the number one player for the past 7 years and consider yourself an underdog you have problems in your psyche.” When questioned about female support for the match Carlsen said “I don’t think so. Women hate me. I repel them!”

CEO of World Chess Ilya Merenzon: “Chess stars are the boxing champions of the 21st century. Smart is sexy, and for three weeks we’ll have an amazing experience watching the smartest people in the world battle it out for the title. The experience will be amazing both on-site and online”.

Russian Chess Federation Vice President and Board of Trustees Member, CEO of PhosAgro Andrey Guryev said: “Chess is played around the globe. As a leading global company, the philosophy of this game is shared by PhosAgro’s management and shareholders alike. We are pleased to support the development of global sports, including chess, along with a number of other charity initiatives which we have been carrying out over many years.”

Followed by the First Move ceremony on Friday 9th – a moment that marks the official opening of the championships, Woody Harrelson will be the first person to move a chess piece ahead of the first round of the match commencing.

The last World Championship match, held in New York, in 2016, enjoyed record-breaking coverage with the total audience for the whole event topping 1.5 billion people.

Leading partners support the Championship Match. Kaspersky Lab is World Chess and FIDE’s Official Cybersecurity Partner. Eugene Kaspersky, CEO of Kaspersky Lab added: “I’m glad that each year the audience of the World Chess Championship grows in number – and more glad that it’s becoming younger (which goes for the players too). Chess is a sport that doesn’t need to compete with modern technology for the attention of the new generations. On the contrary, it’s one of the rare games that can be played both online and offline. And I think that this is one of the factors for its success today. I hope that more and more children will take up this sport so they can train their perseverance, concentration, strategizing, and of course brain in general. And should young chess players not become grandmasters, with these skills they’ll still be setting themselves up with a good chance of succeeding in software engineering! I wish both Magnus Carlsen and his challenger Fabiano Caruana the best of luck! I’m sure it’ll be a compelling match to watch. May the best player win!”

FIDE World Chess Championship Match 2018 is also supported by

PhosAgro, a leading chemical company as the Official Strategic Partner
PRYTEK as Technology Transfer Partner
S.T. Dupont as Official Writing Instrument
Isklar as the official mineral water of the Championship Match
Unibet as the Official Betting Partner

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