'Hottest' London winter ever - Chess Classic 2011 with Carlsen, Anand, Kramnik, Aronian, Nakamura, Adams, Short, McShane, Howell

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011


Hi everyone,

Four 2800+ chess players 

to feature in 

London Chess Classic 2011

It is surely going to be the best-ever line-up of chess players at a major British tournament with the London Chess Classic 2011. There will be four of the six highest-rated players of all time at the event. 

Running from 3rd-12th December, the third annual Classic will be the strongest tournament in the history of British chess, with the world’s best chess players competing in 36 high-profile matches.

For the first time ever in the game, four Grandmasters have simultaneously passed the 2,800 mark in the World Chess Federation (FIDE) rating system and this year’s event will make history as all four players will take part in the tournament.

Leading the field will be world number one Magnus Carlsen, who returns to London’s Olympia Conference Centre to defend the title he won in 2010. Joining Carlsen as part of the star-studded line-up will be World Chess Champion, Viswanathan Anand from India, his immediate predecessor as World Champion, Vladimir Kramnik from Russia, and Armenian Levon Aronian, ranked world number three and the reigning World Blitz Chess Champion.

Also taking part in the elite Classic tournament will be American star Hikaru Nakamura. Check out the full line-up at the official website.

Apart from the elite Classic tournament, other professionals from around the world will be chasing a £2,500 first prize for the nine-round world-rated Open. Separately, a host of events and prizes are available to chess players of all ages and standards.

The tournament is once again being brought to the UK’s capital by the charity ‘Chess in Schools and Communities’. CSC, a registered charity which promotes the playing and teaching of chess in schools, will also host a ‘chess festival’ at the event which will feature five days of free school activities and tournaments, to which over 1000 children are expected to attend.

Children under 16 are admitted free to the London Chess Classic, with adult tickets just £15 per day (£20 at weekends) and £100 for access to all ten days of the tournament. Adult and Junior ticket holders receive admission to the tournament, plus a guaranteed seat in the auditorium and access to the Commentary Room where some of the UK's leading Grandmasters will give insights into the play and answer questions.

All proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the CSC charity. To buy tickets and for more information on the CSC initiative, please visit: www.londonchessclassic.com and www.chessinschools.co.uk.

In case you missed our earlier posts on the CSC events, check them out now.

'My big match with the chess-champion politician'

That chess date with Gary Kasparov in London!

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