Five years after the last edition, the GRENKE Chess Festival is finally taking place again. From 26 March to 1 April, six world stars compete in a special rapid chess format at the GRENKE Chess Classic.
In the first two rounds, the spectators got to see high-quality chess games. After a win against Carlsen and a draw against Ding Liren, Richard Rapport leads the table with 1.5 points. Magnus Carlsen, Vincent Keymer, Ding Liren and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave follow in second place with 1 point each. Daniel Fridman is currently in last place with 0.5 points.
"Everyone has been waiting for this chess festival" - GRENKE Chess Classic and Open are just around the corner with a great and big line-up!
There is only one day left until the big chess festival in Karlsruhe starts! The Schwarzwaldhalle and the Gartenhalle in Karlsruhe will be transformed into an Easter chess mecca. Five years after the last edition, the GRENKE Chess Festival will finally take place again. From 26 March to 1 April, six world stars will compete in rapid chess in the GRENKE Chess Classic. All other players will compete two days later, from 28 March to 1 April, at the GRENKE Chess Open, the world's largest tournament.
The GRENKE Chess Classic will see the number one, two and three players in the current current world rapid chess rankings: Magnus Carlsen, Ding Liren and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Carlsen is the reigning world rapid chess champion and is regarded by many chess fans the best chess player of all time. Ding Liren currently holds the world champion title in classical chess, and the Frenchman Vachier-Lagrave won the world blitz chess title in 2021. Another player in the line-up is Richard Rapport, one of the most creative players on the chess scene and second to Ding Liren during his world championship match in 2023. The field is completed by the German number one Vincent Keymer and the multiple German national champion Daniel Fridman. Keymer was runner-up in the 2022 World Rapid Chess Championship. He celebrated one of his biggest successes in 2018 when he surprisingly won the GRENKE Chess Open. Daniel Fridman qualified for this year's GRENKE Classic by winning the 2019 Open edition. For tournament director Sven Noppes, this is the "absolute dream line-up". Dr Sebastian Hirsch, Chairman of the Board of Directors of GRENKE AG, added: "We are delighted with the high-calibre international field of participants". It will be interesting to see what happens with the time control, which is: 45 minutes + 10-second increments per move. This gives players more time than in conventional blitz and rapid tournaments, but guarantees faster decision making than in classical chess.
The pairings for the first round (26 March, 15:00) are as follows: Vincent Keymer vs. Daniel Fridman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs. Ding Liren Richard Rapport vs. Magnus Carlsen
The pairings for the second round (26 March, 15 minutes after the end of the last game of the first round) are as follows: Partie der ersten Runde) lauten wie folgt: Daniel Fridman vs. Magnus Carlsen Ding Liren vs. Richard Rapport Vincent Keymer vs. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
On the first two days (26/27 March), the Classic will take place in the RSM Ebner Stolz VIP Lounge in the Garden Hall. From 28 March, the stars will then take to the big stage in the Schwarzwaldhalle, where the GRENKE Chess Open will be held in three categories. Top ten player Arjun Erigaisi from India and European Champion Alexey Sarana top the seeding list in the A-Open. Other well known names include Hans Niemann, Abhimanyu Mishra (the youngest grandmaster in history) and German national players Blübaum, Kollars and Svane. 70,000 prize money and the opportunity to look over the shoulders of world stars have attracted numerous chess fans. More than 2,500 players have already registered. "This is the tournament everyone has been waiting for," says Noppes.
The huge number of participants is quite a challenge for the organising team. "No chess club has so many boards and chess pieces," says Noppes. The team of the Baden-Baden Chess Centre, which is organising the major event, is well prepared. The chairman of the chess centre, Christian Bossert, invites all chess enthusiasts: "Be there - register or come to Karlsruhe as a spectator!“ Spectators are welcome on all days of the GRENKE Chess Classic (rest day on Good Friday). On site, the German grandmasters Klaus Bischoff and Sebastian Siebrecht will commentate on the games. If you are unable to accept to come to Karlsruhe, you can watch the games of the GRENKE Chess Classic and at least one hundred games of the GRENKE Chess Open via www.grenkechessopen.de as well as the highlights on the GRENKE Chess social media channels. The coach of Vincent Keymer, world class grandmaster Peter Leko from Hungary and German national coach Jan Gustafsson will lead you through the games in the international live broadcast.
Contact: Schachzentrum Baden-Baden e.V. Tournament director Sven Noppes This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. +49 172 7258738
GRENKE Chess Classic & Open from March 26 - April 1, 2024
New edition of the biggest chess tournament in Europa during Easter in Karlsruhe – GRENKE Classic with Magnus Carlsen, Ding Liren and Vincent Keymer
For many chesslovers, not only in Germany, we can announce the best news of the year 2024 so far; the GRENKE Chess festival is back! In the year 2020, only a few days before the start of the event at Easter, we were forced to cancel the tournament due to the ongoing pandemic.
Now we can announce the long awaited comeback. The GRENKE Chess Open will continue! The tournament mode, registration, price fund and time schedule (28. March-01. April) remain almost unchanged. A price fund of 70.000 Euro and having the possibility of playing in the same hall as the chess superstars, will make this the biggest Open tournament in Europe. From now on, the registration for the tournament is open via the event website www.grenkechessopen.de. The full announcement is also published on the website. The list of participants will be updated regularly and other news will be published on the website as well.
The GRENKE Chess Classic will also have a new edition! The Open and the Classic will temporarely be played at the same time, which will lead to a spectacular presentation of our beloved game by the Chess Center Baden-Baden, a presentation that you will only see in Karlsruhe and nowhere else in the world. Dr. Sebastian Hirsch, CEO of GRENKE AG: „GRENKE has been active in the world of chess for a long time and has promoted chess for more than 20 years. Our GRENKE Chess Open will provide an unique chess event for thousands of chess lovers, amateurs and interested enthusiasts in Karlsruhe. You can not only play chess yourself in the Open, but you can watch the games of top grandmasters in the GRENKE Chess Classic. We are looking forward to the high-profile, international field of participants of the Classic, and I will personally keep my fingers crossed for Vincent Keymer.“
The FIDE Candidate Tournament, to determine the challenger for the next chess world championship match, will start shortly after Easter in Toronto, Canada. Therefore the organisers have adjusted the tournament mode and the schedule of the GRENKE Chess Classic. This year, the GRENKE Chess Classic starts two days before the start of the GRENKE Chess Open. Every day, except for the rest day on March 29th, two rounds will be played. The games will be played with the very attractive rapid chess mode of 45 minutes plus 10 seconds per move for each player. Tournament director Sven Noppes is very proud to announce the fantastic field of this top tournament. „We have been able to invite the following players to Karlsruhe:“
• Magnus Carlsen from Norway, number 1 in the world in classic and rapid chess and current and multiple rapid chess world champion. • World champion Ding Liren from China, number 2 in the rapid chess world rating list. • Maxime Vachier-Lagrave from France,number 3 in the rapid chess world rating list • Vincent Keymer, the German number 1 and vice world champion in rapid chess 2022. • Richard Rapport, a top grandmaster, who is playing for the Rumanian chess federation holding an Hungarian passport. • Daniel Fridman from Germany, who won the GRENKE Chess Open in 2019 and earned his qualification for the top tournament this year.
From Thursday on, the super grandmasters of the GRENKE Chess Classic will share the main hall of the Schwarzwaldhalle in Karlsruhe with the participants and chess fans of the Open. “Once again, we will see unique images, and an atmosphere will be created, that you will only experience in Karlsruhe“, Sven Noppes explains. „Mass and class in one place, like nowhere else, FIDE Master Christian Bossert, chairman of the Chess Center adds. „It is the basic idea of the chess event since its first edition in 2016“. And Bossert continues: „Come and join the event- register today and come to Karlsruhe to play or just to watch great chess“.
Contact: Schachzentrum Baden-Baden e.V. Turnierdirektor Sven Noppes This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Chess Classic & Open
