The 2015 World Chess Rapid and Blitz Championship was opened today in the historical Kino International on Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin, Germany.
The players, official and guests were greeted by the President of German Chess Federation and FIDE Vice President Herbert Bastian, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and President of World Chess by Agon Limited Ilya Merenzon.
Ilya Merenzon invited World Champion Magnus Carlsen to share his impressions about the movie “Pawn Sacrifice”, which was having the European Premiere tonight at the opening of the Championship. Magnus Carlsen, who had seen the movie in Saint Louis, said that he liked “Pawn Sacrifice” both as a movies fan and as a chess player.
The honor to perform the drawing of lots was reserved for the special guest, the former World Champion Boris Spassky. With the help of Frank Neumann, media officer of German Chess Federation, Boris Spassky drew black pawns for both rapid and blitz events. This means that the top seeded player will be black in round one of both events.
The games will take place at the Bolle Meierei daily from 14:00 local time. List of participants
Info: Tournament website / Preview and information / Standings and statistics
Live: World Rapid Chess 2015 LIVE / World Blitz Chess 2015 LIVE
