Dubai: If you are a fan of the Netflix chess drama The Queen’s Gambit, you are in for a treat this year. Expo 2020 Dubai, which kicks off in October, is gearing up to host the World Chess Championship, a global competition organised by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) every two years.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic the finale was postponed to 2021, and will now kick off on November 24 and conclude on December 16.
Who is competing at the World Chess Championship 2021?
Magnus Carlsen, the four-time world champion from Norway, will be up against the winner of the Candidates Tournament, Russia's Ian Nepomniachtchi.
The tournament concluded its delayed course in Ekaterinburg, Russia, on April 26, where the 30-year-old Russian chess player advanced to the final face-off.
Nepomniachtchi will not be playing under the Russian flag, however. Due to the four-year doping ban imposed on Russia by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Nepomniachtchi will take on Carlsen as a neutral player under the aegis of the FIDE flag.
Besides taking the crown, the triumphant chess mastermind will also take home a prize of €2 million (about Dh9 million).
Where will the World Chess Championship be held?
The grand finale - after 14 matches - will take place at Dubai Exhibition Centre.
How to get there
From the heart of Expo, you can walk right into the exhibition centre in less than four minutes. The 45,000-square-metre space is a stone’s throw away from the brand new Expo 2020 Metro Station. If you're driving to the venue, the Dubai Exhibition Centre has its own visitor parking lot.
The World Chess Championship is only but one of the many events slated for Expo’s stellar six-month roster.
- The writer is an intern with Gulf News.
