The FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Championships can be held December 26-30, 2022 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The International Chess Federation confirmed the dates and the host metropolis right now in a press launch.

Traditionally, two of probably the most thrilling occasions on the chess calendar are held within the final week of the yr, and this yr can be no totally different. Between Christmas and the brand new yr, as soon as once more the world speedy and blitz championships can be held. This time, the host metropolis is Kazakhstan’s largest metropolis Almaty—10 years after the occasion was held within the capital Astana.

The important sponsor of the occasion is Freedom Finance, an funding firm that is part of Freedom Holdings (Nevada, USA) which is engaged in funding banking, asset administration, and capital markets companies. The firm owns the Kazakh financial institution Freedom Finance, the net retailer Freedom24 and the Kazakhstani dealer Freedom Finance JSC, amongst different property.

FIDE’s Director General Emil Sutovsky confirmed to Chess.com that the format of the 2 tournaments will stay unchanged. This implies that the world speedy championship can be a Swiss-system with 13 rounds for the open match and 11 rounds for the ladies’s match, performed over three days. The world blitz can be a Swiss-system as effectively, with 21 rounds for the open match and 17 rounds for the ladies’s match on the final two days. 

Last yr, the occasions have been held in Warsaw, Poland the place GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov received the speedy match and GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave received the world blitz. In the ladies’s sections, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk received the world speedy and IM Bibisara Assaubayeva the world blitz.

The world speedy and blitz championship have been held on this format since 2012. In the open sections, the speedy was received 3 times by Carlsen, in 2014, 2015, and 2019. The Norwegian GM received the world blitz 4 occasions, in 2014, 2017, 2018, and 2019. GM Hikaru Nakamura, who just lately received his first world title on the Fischer Random championship, hasn’t received gold but in both the speedy or blitz however is at all times among the many high favorites. So far, names of individuals have not been introduced but.