Grandmaster P. Harikrishna is set to debut on the million-dollar Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour by joining the game’s elite players in the $150,000 Chessable Masters beginning on June 20.
Carlsen leads the online 12-player field which included Fabiano Caruana, Ding Liren, Hikaru Nakamura, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Daniil Dubov, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Anish Giri, Alexander Grischuk, Teimour Radjabov, Harikrishna and Vladislav Artemiev.
Ranked 26th in classical format, Harikrishna will have to use all his skills of rapid and blitz chess to do well in this classy field. Currently, Harikrishna is ranked 51st in rapid and 65th in blitz ratings.
Format
As per the format, the contestants play each other in the round-robin format. The last four players are eliminated, leaving the remaining eight to advance to the knockout quarterfinals. In the knockout phase, each encounter involves a maximum of three best-of-four rapid games.
In case of a 2-2 deadlock in any four-game match, an Armageddon game is played, where the player with white pieces has five minutes — to his rival’s four — to make the moves. In case of a draw, the player with black pieces is adjudged the winner.
This is the third leg of the Chess Tour, launched by Carlsen once the pandemic took its toll on the cash-rich Grand Chess Tour.
