FIDE Launches Checkmate Coronavirus Project
In light of the ongoing global crisis caused by COVID-19, the international chess community has come together to start the “FIDE Checkmate coronavirus” initiative–a month-long non-stop online chess festival with 24 daily tournaments beginning each hour on Chess.com and open to everyone in the world.
Starting May 18 and running until June 16, the International chess federation (FIDE) in coordination with leading chess platforms will be running a month-long event featuring tournaments open to everyone, regardless of their level of play. Tournaments can be found on Chess.com in the Live Chess tournament lobby by clicking on the "Upcoming" tab and finding your time control of choice. If a Checkmate Coronavirus arena is already underway, you can join it by clicking on the "In Progress" tab and join at any time!
The non-stop arena chess bonanza will include 720 prizes, one for each hour of the tournament series, with all participants being eligible for the prize-draw, regardless of their score in the tournaments. The top prizes include 64 (the number of squares on the chess-board) one-week invitations to the 2021 Chess Olympiad in Moscow!
The arena tournaments will feature rapid, blitz and bullet time controls ranging from 1+0 to 10+2. Rapid arenas last four hours, the blitz tournaments two, while the bullet tournaments will feature one hour of high-flying chess for the Chess.com speed demons out there.
"FIDE is pleased to launch the 'Checkmate coronavirus' a project which I hope will attract even more people to our game. On a chessboard, two kingdoms face each other in a battle where only one side can win. But in real life chess is a game that unites us, makes us feel like one family, one community, one planet. Stay safe and play chess. I hope to meet the lucky ones next summer at the Chess Olympiad 2021 in Moscow!" FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich commented.
Supporting the efforts by all national governments and people all over the world, we want to provide those who have to spend many hours at home with a creative vent, while also promoting the ideals of unity, solidarity, and participation. Everyone can play and win at "Checkmate Coronavirus", regardless of age, country, or level of play.
The full list of tournaments available on Chess.com can be found by clicking here.
