FIDE On World Blitz Format Change: ‘Too Many Non Games’

FIDE, the International Chess Federation, in a piece published on Tuesday, introduced there are 100 days earlier than the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships are set to happen in Doha, Qatar. While they’ve stored final yr’s format for the Blitz, that includes a Swiss adopted by a Knockout, the second stage will characteristic simply 4 gamers as an alternative of eight. FIDE’s CEO and GM Emil Sutovsky supplied an evidence for the format change.

The format is usually the identical as final yr, with 13 rounds of fast within the open championship and 11 within the ladies’s. The main change is within the Blitz, the place we have now seen a rise within the variety of rounds within the Swiss stage and a lower within the variety of gamers who will qualify for the Knockout. 

There will now be 19 rounds of blitz performed within the open match and 15 within the ladies’s, a rise from 13 and 11 final yr, respectively. Only the top-four gamers will play within the Knockout, which begins within the Semifinals. Sutovsky defined the rationale in an electronic mail, mentioning that they spoke to a number of gamers and that the change has been obtained positively:

We felt KO was a extremely engaging format, however final time having top-8 led to many non-games within the final spherical. Also beginning the KO from simply 4 gamers permits for extra rounds within the Swiss – so one unhealthy sport cannot break your match, and in addition those that don’t qualify have extra possibilities to play – and never simply in the future of blitz.

Last yr, the primary stage of the blitz championships happened on in the future and the second on the following, so that everybody who wasn’t one of many eight qualifying gamers was left spectating or taking advantage of their time in New York elsewhere. This time, gamers who fly to Qatar will get to play on all 5 days. The first 13 rounds of the Swiss happen on December twenty ninth, whereas rounds 14-19 are on the thirtieth adopted by the Knockout on the identical day. The Women’s match options the identical deal, besides it is 10 rounds on day one and the final 5 rounds are on day two, adopted by the Knockout.

GM Rafael Leitao, who analyzes the Game of the Day for Chess.com in our information stories, responded optimistically to the information. He advised Chess.com, “I really like this new system, I think it’s better than the previous one. With more rounds to play no one can complain about the lack of luck, while keeping the attractive knockout format for the spectators. I’m looking forward to it!”

With extra rounds to play nobody can complain concerning the lack of luck, whereas retaining the engaging knockout format for the spectators. 

—Rafael Leitao

Last yr was the primary time that the blitz championships featured two levels; earlier than then, it was an extended Swiss match. 2023 featured with 21 rounds, for example. This yr’s announcement marks a transparent departure from that format and a choice for the knockout portion to resolve the champion.

It’s going to be even more durable to make it to the ultimate stage of the blitz occasions. To offer you an thought, 10 gamers final yr completed with 9.5/13, so GMs Daniil Dubov and Daniel Naroditsky had been overlooked of the ultimate eight by tiebreaks. In this yr’s format, it implies that six gamers would have been overlooked of the Knockout; on the identical time, we are able to count on fewer cagey attracts within the final rounds. 

The main level of controversy in final yr’s FIDE World Blitz Chess Championship was the settlement between GMs Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi to conclude their match and share the title, regardless of laws that required them to play on till there was a decisive consequence. This yr, within the Knockout, if a match is tied after 4 video games then a remaining sudden loss of life sport will resolve the match.

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