Pragg, Erigaisi, Carlsen among 24 chess superstars in Budapest for Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot

Indias World No7 R Praggnanandhaa No 12ranked Arjun Erigaisi and top woman player Vaishali Rameshbabu are among the chess worlds biggest stars descending on the Hungarian capital for the pilot event of Total Chess World Championship an ambitious new tournament which tests an innovative format and explores a new direction for professional chessAmong the biggest attractions is the arrival of Magnus Carlsen widely regarded as the Greatest of All Time GOAT who arrived in Budapest late on Monday evening Having held the world No 1 position for 15 consecutive years Carlsens participation adds enormous star power to an already exceptional field and puts the spotlight firmly on the Hungarian capitalThe 24player worldclass field also includes elite stars like Fabiano Caruana Anish Giri Levon Aronian Ian Nepomniachtchi Maxime VachierLagrave and young talents like Abhimanyu Mishra of the United StatesThis makes up an extraordinary gathering of international chess talent featuring some of the biggest names in the game multiple elite grandmasters and two of the worlds leading female players From established champions and former world championship challengers to the next generation of chess superstars the Budapest Pilot promises a fascinating contest across the boardThe confirmed participants include beside Carlsen Caruana Erigiasi Pragg and Vaishali Wesley So USA Vincent Keymer GER Nodirbek Abdusattorov UZB Anish Giri NED Alireza Firouzja FRA JanKrzysztof Duda POL Liem Le VIE Richard Rapport HUN Levon Aronian USA Hans Moke Niemann USA Shakhriyar Mamedyarov AZE Ian Nepomniachtchi FIDE Maxime VachierLagrave FRA Jorden van Foreest NED Haik M Martirosyan ARM Vladislav Artemiev FIDE Abhimanyu Mishra USA and the worlds youngest Grandmaster Andrew Hong USA along with Womens World No 7 Bibisara Assaubayeva KAZWith a total prize fund of 650000 the stakes could hardly be higher for a pilot event The tournament brings together an exceptional collection of talent with every player competing for the inaugural crown and the opportunity to be part of a defining moment in the evolution of professional chessBut the Total Chess Pilot is about more than finding a champion At its heart is the testing of a new competitive format designed to bring a fresh dimension to elite chess creating a more dynamic engaging and compelling experience for players fans and audiences worldwide the organisers saidAlongside the onboard competition the event will introduce an enhanced broadcast experience featuring worldclass production an expert commentary panel live insights and indepth postmatch studio analysis bringing viewers closer to the players their strategies and the drama behind every gameThe Total Chess World Championship Tour Pilot introduces a groundbreaking competition format designed to identify the worlds most complete chess player by combining Fast Classic Rapid and Blitz into a single championshipFor the pilot event the 24 elite players will begin the tournament in a group stage comprising four groups of six players each Every group follows a double roundrobin format over five days with players contesting ten Fast Classical games 45 minutes plus a 30second incrementVictories earn three points while draws are worth one point A nineround Blitz Swiss tournament held before the competition determines tiebreak rankingsFollowing the group stage players progress into knockout brackets based on their finishing positions Each knockout match is played over two days and tests competitors across all three disciplinesmdashfour Blitz games 32 two Rapid games 1510 and one Fast Classical game 4530mdashwith weighted scoring rewarding success in longer formatsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever