I'm guessing it's due to the fact that this is only the second official Fischer Random World Championship. (The first one was in 2019.)
Fischer Random is not nearly as popular as standard chess, so they're still kind of "testing the waters", so to speak, to see if 960 really takes off (I hope it does!).
They are also playing it at a specific hotel in Iceland - the one where Bobby Fischer stayed at, during his World Championship match against Spassky.
The hotel (perhaps?) is not the most lucrative, but it remains a locale of chess nostalgia ...
I’m new to watching chess tournaments but have watched a few and really enjoy them. I’ve been following the Fisher random, and enjoying it overall, but man, some things seem so amateur. Is this how many chess tournaments are? For example:
First of all, the room. It not only looks like any random hotel ‘function room B’, but the layout is ridiculous. I’m watching Nepo play a tournament two feet from where people get their coffee? Cups/coffee machines/etc right beside them. I saw a quick interview with him in front of a random door in which two seperate people came through within the one minute he was on camera. It just all looks so amateur.
And the people. Casually lazing, in casual clothes, right behind Magnus as he plays? The dress code is stricter in my local pub. Literally. Other people who work there just hovering around, right in the line of the camera. Like the lady in the tshirt with some red/green/white writing. You’re on international TV and you’re wearing the same casual tshirt the whole time? Random camera men just standing around. Like, if you’re not working, get out of the shot! Surely camera men of all people should know that.
The Swedish commentator Grandelius (who I really enjoy) is just working out of a random tiny room in his house. Could they not put a ‘Chess24’ banner behind him like Leko?
The players’ names are just randomly printed on an A4 sheet and tacked to the side of the tables, often crooked or even hanging off?
The technology aspect of the coverage (I’m watching Chess24) seems off. The live boards are not in sync with the players’ camera. And where’s the engine evaluation bar? I find not having this to drastically take away from my experience following games.
It even strikes me as odd that the players have to set up the pieces themselves after playing. Like can they not get someone else to do it?
Again, I love the tournament idea and am really enjoying watching overall, the commentary especially - I really enjoy both of these dudes. I certainly don’t mean to take anything away from the players themselves either. Just as a relatively new watcher of tournaments, I’m shocked how amateur this whole thing seems! Especially as many of the issues seems so easy to fix.