Monaco’s Novotel will host two separate chess events this week, beginning with the new Blitz Chess Championship inspired by the popular Manga series before the top-tier European Women’s Rapid tournament takes place. 

Blitz, the chess-focused Manga series produced by Monaco’s Shibuya Productions, is hosting its first event, the Blitz Chess Championship, on Friday 12th January. The format is based on 13 high-intensity single rounds and time controls of three minutes and two seconds as per the Swiss system.  

The Swiss System is a chess tournament pairing system that allows all players to play all rounds regardless of whether they win or lose. No one is eliminated due to a loss. Instead, players are paired based upon how well they do in the tournament, with the winningest playing other winners and so forth.  

Blitz’s growing acclaim, which has seen 10 volumes since 2020, has brought chess to a whole new generation, making the game appealing through its youthful characters, detailed artwork, fun story lines and guest appearances by the legendary chess master Gary Kasparov.  

The first match will start at 1.30pm.

TOP INTERNATIONAL FEMALE PLAYERS 

The second tournament, the European Women’s Rapid, will take place from Saturday 13th to Sunday 14th January. There will be 11 rounds with time control in increments of 15 minutes and 10 seconds. 

The event is likely to attract top players such as Alexandra Kosteniuk, Antoaneta Stefanova and Pia Cramling, who will be battling it out for prizes to the tune of €22,500.  

The matches start at 2.15pm.  

For more information on both tournaments, click here. 

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Photo source: Je Shoots, Unsplash