Oslo (Norway): India’s Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa will clash with World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the Julius Baer Generation Cup, the next edition of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, the world’s leading year-round chess circuit, starting on Sunday.
Julius Baer Generation Cup is a new ground-breaking tournament this month focused on the clash of ages as it pits against each other players from age groups — from 15 to 50-plus.
The Julius Baer Generation Cup marks a fitting return to Julius Baer events for Pragg, the 17-year-old from Chennai.
Pragg won the 2021 Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour and earned qualification for the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, where he hit the headlines immediately in February with a memorable win over World Chess Champion Carlsen.
The eight-day Julius Baer Generation Cup, the seventh leg of the $1.6 million Tour running from September 18 to 25, will feature 16 world-class players spanning the age spectrum.
So, besides the 17-year-old Praggnanandhaa, the event also includes 19-year-old American Hans Niemann. At 15, Christopher Yoo is the youngest in the competition. Along with Pragg and Niemann, Yoo is joined by Vincent Keymer and Arjun Erigaisi in a cohort of talented teenagers.
Also in the 16-player line-up are two legends of chess in six-time World Championship candidate Boris Gelfand and Ukraine’s 53-year-old former World Rapid Champion Vasyl Ivanchuk.
Tour Director Arne Horvei said: “Together with Julius Baer, we are delighted to present the seventh leg of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour.
“The Tour is heating up as we enter the final three events. We have the thrilling prospect of Carlsen vs Pragg and all the players will be fighting for places in the third and final Major in November.”
As usual, the 16-player all-play-all prelims will comprise a mini-match of two games each played on a time control of 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move increment.
The top eight will qualify for the knockouts with the quarterfinals and semifinals comprising 4-game matches. In case of a tie, each match will be decided by a playoff of five games of three minutes each followed by an Armageddon if needed.
The final will include two 4-game matches followed by a playoff if needed.
(IANS)
