Participate In The Global Chess Festival This Saturday!

The Global Chess Festival invites chess players around the world to celebrate chess. Now in its fifth year, the Global Chess Festival is an initiative by Judit Polgar that aims to unite the chess community and celebrate chess as a sport, science, art and educational tool.

We encourage readers to visit globalchessfestival.com for more details about this special event.

Here are three ways you can participate in the event online on Chess.com.

1. Watch the Inspiration Cup

One of the highlights of the 2019 festival will be The Inspiration Cup, where couples will match their skills according to the rules of "hand and brain." In what is perhaps the most spectacular couples' game, one of the team members is the "brain" who announces which kind of piece should be moved, while the other is the "hand" who decides exactly which piece to move and where it should be moved.

If the brain and hand are not on the same wavelength, chaos on the board and beyond is guaranteed. Competing pairs include GM Mihail Marin, who is considered to be one of the greatest authors and chess experts in modern history, and his wife, FM Marina Yugina. WIM Natasha Regan and GM Matthew Sadler will also be at the table, along with IM Sofia Polgar and her husband, GM Yona Kosashvili. The orthopedic professor and GM Artur Kogan and his wife, WIM Tatjana Plachkinova will also be joining.

The competition will be streamed live on October 12 at 1 a.m. PT on twitch.tv/chesscomevents with commentary by IMs Anna Rudolf and Lawrence Trent.

2. Play in the 24-Hour Online Arena

If you can't make the trip to Budapest, you can still play chess as part of the Global Chess Festival in Chess.com's 24-hour arena.

The arena begins at 8 a.m. PT on October 11, the day before the main festival; registration opens at 7 a.m. PT. Participants may also late join at any point during the event and may exit the arena and return later, retaining all points already scored.

Not familiar with the arena format? Read all about it in Chess.com's help file. Note that you do NOT have to play for 24 hours. Competitors can join and leave at any point during the event.

Prizes

Chess.com will be giving a one-year diamond membership to the tournament's victor. The rest of the top-10 finishers will receive three-month diamond memberships.

3. Join the Global Chess Festival club!

Want to participate in future Global Chess Festival events? Join the Global Chess Festival club on Chess.com!

The Global Chess Festival promotes the 1,000 faces of chess all around​ the world. We aim to share the beauty of chess with 5 million people by 2025, to connect and enjoy chess-related activities on the day of the festival. The power of chess connects people.