London Chess Classic 2010
The second London Chess Classic will take place from 8-15 December in Kensington, London.
Last year's inaugural event was won by Magnus Carlsen, and he is back to defend his title. In fact, all of the players from last year return except Ni Hua of China. Replacing him is the world champion Vishy Anand!
So an already attractive event has got even better, with four of the world's elite (Anand, Carlsen, Kramnik, Nakamura) and four of the best of British (Adams, Short, McShane, Howell) fighting over a prize fund of €145,000.
The format is a single round-robin with classical time controls (first 40 moves in 2 hours, next 20 moves in 1 hour, then 15 minutes plus a 30 second increment to finish) plus "Sofia Rules" in operation.
In such a relatively short event, the result can be hard to predict and opening games crucial. Last year Carlsen beat Kramnik in the first round and never looked back. The first round draw this time is:
| Nigel Short | Vladimir Kramnik |
| Luke McShane | Magnus Carlsen |
| Michael Adams | David Howell |
| Vishy Anand | Hikaru Nakamura |
The full schedule can be found here. The rounds start at 14:00 local time (GMT), except round two (16:00) and the final round (12:00). The sole rest day is on 13 December. Games will be broadcast live at chess.com via analysis boards.
Who do YOU think will win? Look out for special live coverage from Chess.com!
There are many other events and attractions taking place alongside the headlining Classic tournament, including a FIDE Open competition, a Women's Invitational, and a simultaneous exhibition by the indomitable Viktor Korchnoi. The excellent official site has full details.
