Chess is part of the World Cup in Saudi Arabia for the first time – and Magnus Carlsen mixes. This is a reason for the world association.
Magnus Carlsen, the best chess player in the world, likes to be a rebel. In December 2024 to appear in jeans to the high-speed World Cup: The World Association FIDE with its old-fashioned dress code is stubborn and antiquated. I, on the other hand,, Magnus Carlsen, the best player in the world, stand for fresh wind and progress.
The official, classic FIDE World Championship has been missed by the five-time champion for two years, he finds “Schach960” more exciting, in which the basic arrangement of the figures is drawn. With the German entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner, he markets the variant as “Freestyle Chess” New, wants to align your own World Cup – and also go on a confrontation course with the FIDE.
Chess next to Dota 2 and Counter Strike
Carlsen has long been a businessman as intensely as chess professional. If the billion-dollar e-sports business is now discovering chess, the 34-year-old Norwegian is of course there. On Thursday and Friday, July 31st and August 1st, he starts at the ESPORTS World Cup in Saudi-Arabia’s capital Riad.
Schach is part of the program for the first time, which otherwise includes computer games such as League of Legends, Dota 2 or Counter-Strike. Chess has been an online phenomenon since Coronapandemie at the latest, Carlsen himself has a large part in the boom with his business activities in the online chess.
Sports investment As an image campaign
Saudi Arabia now also reaches for chess. The heavy oil state has bought enormous influence in recent years – for example in golf, tennis, boxing, motorsport and football. The largest fish on the net is the 2034 World Cup.
The ruling family says she wants to modernize the country and make it more independent of oil with the sports offensive and the associated reform program “Vision 2030”. Critics, on the other hand, call the procedure Sportswashing – an image campaign to distract from serious human rights violations. According to Amnesty International, the number of executions in Saudi Arabia doubled last year.
Also in E-Sport-Sport is a top priority in Saudi Arabia
E-Sport is another important strategy component with its huge young, international fan base. Here, too, Saudi Arabia is investing lush, in 2027 the premiere of the Olympic E-Sport games. The World Cup in Riad has been around since 2022, organized by the Saudi State Fund PIF. Its chair is Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the sport is a top priority in Saudi Arabia.
The official ambassador of the ESPORT World Cup is, not surprisingly, football star Cristiano Ronaldo, who is being kept in a princely reward in Saudi Arabia. Another ambassador: Magnus Carlsen. It also can be clamped into Saudi Arabia’s massive image campaign. “This partnership is an incredible opportunity to develop the game further by introducing chess to a new audience and inspiring the next generation of players”, “ Carlsen was quoted in the press release.
1.5 million euros in prize money for a two -day tournament
There is more criticism of this, an exception is St. Pauli’s left fan group “Nord Support. She spoke of “Fall of Marcus C.”, as Carlsen in January for FC St. Pauli in the chess Bundesliga. In recent years, many sports stars and associations have done business with Saudi Arabia that the critics hardly come after.
Saudi Arabia has awarded 1.5 million euros in prize money for chess competition. This is a million less than in the classic World Cup of the World Association. However, the participants have to prepare for months and then take weeks in extremely stressful marathon matches. In Riad there is a lot of money for a two -day tournament.
Development like in the Golf?
How much Saudi Arabia can mix up a sport has been shown in the Golf. The Saudi LIV tour made great competition to the established tournament series PGA Tour (USA) and DP Tour (Europe). 2023 melted Liv Tour and PGA Tour – since then the Saudis have talked to a good word in global golf.
At the Schach World Association FIDE you should know this story and look closely when Saudi Arabia and Magnus Carlsen do a common cause.