Hosted by DeepMind in Google’s UK headquarters in King’s Cross
As part of the 10th London Chess Classic, the Pro-Biz Cup brings leading business minds and the world’s leading Grandmasters together in a fun tournament to raise money for the UK charity Chess in Schools and Communities (CSC). This takes place on Mon 10 December.
This prestigious event will feature World Championship Challenger Fabiano Caruana, back in action in London just days after his gripping match with Magnus Carlsen.
Alongside will be his fellow competitors in the London Chess Classic (the final leg of the Grand Chess Tour 2018) Hikaru Nakamura, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Levon Aronian. Pairs of leading Grandmasters and amateurs will play alternate moves in an innovative rapidplay format, with the winning team being awarded the Pro-Biz Cup 2018.
Prominent among the teams of top-class Grandmasters and businesspeople are two of the world’s brightest minds:
– Demis Hassabis, the Co-Founder of Google’s leading Artificial Intelligence (AI) company DeepMind and creator of Alpha Zero and Alpha Go, which have pioneered breakthroughs in Chess and Go; and
– Garry Kasparov, the legendary World Chess Champion, who has become an enthusiastic advocate of AI since his epic Man vs Machine chess match with the Deep Thought supercomputer in 1997.
The impressive array of talent also includes England Olympiad team members Mickey Adams, David Howell, Gawain Jones and David Howell, as well as nine-year-old Shreyas Royal, England’s top Under 12 and the world’s second-highest rated player for his age.
The Teams:
Pair 1
– Fabiano Caruana, World Championship Challenger
– Chris Flowers, Chairman and CEO of J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC, an investment firm specialising in financial services
Pair 2
– Matthew Sadler, two-time British Champion
– Demis Hassabis, CEO and Co-Founder of DeepMind
Pair 3
– Garry Kasparov, former World Champion
– Terry Chapman, entrepreneur and former Chairman and CEO of Terence Chapman Group PLC
Pair 4
– David Howell, England No. 2
– Rajko Vujatovic, model risk consultant and three-time gold medallist in the World Diving Chess Championships
Pair 5
– Levon Aronian, Grand Chess Tour semi-finalist 2018.
– Justin Baptie, Managing Director of Insight Strategic Associates, a firm of accountants dealing with the SME and HNW market.
Pair 6
– Mickey Adams, England No. 1 and reigning British Champion.
– Natasha Regan, a Director at RPC Consulting and Women’s International Master.
Pair 7
– Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Grand Chess Tour semi-finalist 2018.
– Gilles Betthaeuser, President of global real estate company Colliers International for France, Belgium, Spain, Morocco and Switzerland.
Pair 8
– Gawain Jones, two-time British Champion.
– Nigel Povah, an advisor to US firm PSI and an International Master.
Pair 9
– Hikaru Nakamura, Grand Chess Tour semi-finalist 2018.
– Karina Vazirova, Head of Product and Implementations at ClauseMatch, a London-based RegTech firm, and a Women’s International Master
Pair 10
– Ali Mortazavi, former CEO of Silence Therapeutics and an International Master.
– Shreyas Royal, 9, currently the top English Under 12 and ranked second in the world for his age.
The Pro-Biz Cup is part of the London Chess Classic and supports Chess in Schools and Communities
