Singapore wins bid to host World Chess Championship in 2024

SINGAPORE – Two of the world’s best chess players will be in town in 2024, after Singapore beat India’s New Delhi and Chennai to host the World Chess Championship.

The winning bid for the prestigious tournament, which is provisionally scheduled for Nov 20 to Dec 15, was announced by the International Chess Federation (Fide) on July 1.

This will be the second time in the championship’s 138-year history that the tournament is held in South-east Asia, after Baguio, the Philippines, in 1978. 

The championship will be accompanied by an array of fringe activities, including other tournaments and exhibition games. The venue for the event will be revealed in due course.

Headlining the US$8.5 million (S$11.5 million) event is China’s world champion Ding Liren and his Indian challenger Gukesh Dommaraju, with the duo competing in a best-of-14 format.

First-time host Singapore beat two contenders from India, including Chennai, which is Gukesh’s home town, for the right to organise the biennial event.

Chennai last hosted the world championship in 2013, when Norwegian challenger Magnus Carlsen dethroned home favourite and holder Viswanathan Anand.

Gukesh, 18, is the youngest challenger for the world title in history and earned the right to face Ding by winning the 2024 Candidates Tournament in Toronto in April.

Fide president Arkady Dvorkovich said: “We are delighted that for the first time in the history of Fide, a match for the World Championship will take place in Singapore.

“Not only is Singapore one of the most iconic global tourist and business hubs, but it is also a thriving chess centre with great ambitions and talent.”

Sport Singapore’s chief of industry development, technology and innovation, Roy Teo, added: “Having the apex of chess tournaments in Singapore is testament to our strategy to feature a variety of sport events in our calendar.”

Singapore grandmaster Tin Jingyao, 23, is delighted to have the top chess players in town for the tournament.

He said: “For the event to be out here, it’s great for local chess and it’s great work done on the part of the federation and Singapore to secure the World Chess Championship.”

Aside from the main event, Tin hopes to see a “side competition” for other players and a chance to meet the two chess stars.

He added: “For many chess players here, it will be something really special. Because in Singapore, we barely even have any events for chess, let alone huge events like this.

“So unless you’re a serious chess player and you get to travel overseas for competitions, otherwise, most chess players and fans here have never really been to an international chess event before.”

Singapore Chess Federation chief executive officer Kevin Goh said: “We hope to see this as the start of something special, a general push to grow the awareness of chess. We’re trying to bring across those additional flavours and hopefully excite the chess community.

“In a way, I hope that the world championship can help to kick-start the next leap in Singapore chess. Bringing in funding as well as bringing attention to the sport, and then help grow our young kids to not just be top talents but eventually be role models.”

When talking about Gukesh and Ding’s journey, Goh feels that young players should be “inspired by their stories”. “These sorts of things, and how players can find a way to come back, the story of resilience, I think this should be shared with not just chess players but to everyone.”

Local chess fan Joshua Lim, 51, who works in the petroleum industry, added: “I am thrilled that Singapore has been chosen to host the World Chess Championship, this is a significant milestone for our country and the chess community here.

“We’ve seen a remarkable increase in interest and participation, and this event will undoubtedly serve as a catalyst to further promote the game.”