New Delhi: First-ever Global Chess League (GCL) will be held from June 21 to July 2, the organisers said on Wednesday.
GCL will be the world’s largest and first-ever league-styled tournament. It will feature six teams with six players each, including a minimum of two female players and one icon player per team.
Viswanathan Anand, five-time world chess champion and Mentor, GCL, said, “As we inch closer to the start of the tournament, we are seeing all our plans come to fruition. We hope the fans will like the concept and theme we created here. The primary objective of GCL is to promote the sport of chess globally and make it visually attractive for the masses.”
Each team will compete in 10 matches in the rapid format across all six boards in the tournament.
Sutovsky Emil, CEO, FIDE, said, “GCL aims to change how chess is played, viewed and visualized globally. We are only a few weeks away from the inaugural season, and we are happy to launch the official logo of the league. FIDE looks forward to an exciting debut of the GCL in June 2023.”
The top two teams after the round-robin format will progress to the final on July 2, 2023, and the winning team will be crowned the World Champion Franchise Team.
Jagdish Mitra, Chairperson, Global Chess League Board, said, “The GCL brand has been designed for the digital space to support and elevate the incredible chess game full of mastery, judgement, and time pressure. GCL represents a new beginning in chess, and the carefully designed brand identity representing chess in its majestic glory is the first step in that direction.”
The league will also set the standards for technological innovations in chess as FIDE and its partners are exploring innovative ways to promote the game through interactive technology-enabled platforms by leveraging next-generation technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality, among others.
