ICC chessclub.com, the original home of online chess, is thrilled to announce its sponsorship of the 2024 FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship - a historic event destined to become the strongest chess tournament ever held in the United States.

Taking place in New York City from December 26 to 31, this championship will gather 300 elite players, including many of the brightest stars in the chess world, for an unforgettable showdown during the holiday season.

All eyes will be on the world’s top-rated player and former world champion in classical chess, Magnus Carlsen, who enters the tournament as the top seed, determined to defend his titles in both Rapid and Blitz formats. One of his closest challengers will likely be Alireza Firouzja, currently the world’s second-highest-rated blitz player.

Chess fans will also be able to see three former World Championship Challengers in action – current U.S. champion Fabiano Caruana, Ian Nepomniachtchi, and Israeli GM Boris Gelfand.

The U.S. chess elite is taking advantage of playing on home turf as many top Grandmasters have registered, including: Hikaru Nakamura, Wesley So, Levon Aronian, Jeffrey Xiong, Leinier Dominguez Perez, Hans Niemann, Sam Shankland, and others.

In the Women’s competition, the current World Champion in classical chess Ju Wenjun leads the field. She is joined by four former world champions Tan Zhongyi, Mariya Muzychuk, Alexandra Kosteniuk, and Zhu Chen, as well as the three-time world champion in fast chess Anna Muzychuk, who won the gold in Rapid in 2014 and in Blitz in 2014 and 2016.

Among the American women players, the list is headed by Carissa Yip, Irina Krush, and Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova.

As a proud Tournament Sponsor, ICC is not only supporting the event itself but also sponsoring several world-class players competing in the championship, whose names will be announced in the coming days. One of them will be Faustino Oro, the youngest IM in history, who, at 11 years old, is already one of the players to keep an eye on when it comes to fast chess.

Beyond the board, ICC is also planning several events and hospitality activities to welcome the players and celebrate this momentous occasion in the heart of NYC.
Stay tuned for updates, and join us in making chess history this December!

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About ICC

Shortly after it was founded in 1995, ICC became the first global chess community, the original home of online chess, and the birthplace of fun new ways of playing the game, like bullet chess.

In 2024, ICC chessclub.com is being relaunched with the same pioneer spirit but with renewed energy and ideas. We are determined to make the king of games more accessible, more fun, and more engaging than ever before.

First, we brought the online game experience to chess players. Now, we are going to bring the chess experience to online gamers.

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Media Contact
David Llada
+34 623021120
davidllada@chessclub.com