Grand Chess Battle Begins: FIDE Candidates Tournament 2024 Starts Off in Toronto

The FIDE Candidates Tournament 2024 commenced in Toronto with great excitement, as the prestigious event made its debut in North America. The celebrations began with an inaugural press conference and an exciting Opening Ceremony. The event lasts from the 3rd of April to the 23rd of April, 2024 at the eco-friendly 1 Hotel Toronto, located in the heart of downtown.

George Sovatzis, the Director of Sales and Marketing at 1 Hotel Toronto, welcomed everyone with enthusiasm, expressing pride in being part of this historic competition’s North American premiere. The press conference, skillfully moderated by Anna Burtasova, the event’s Press Officer, featured esteemed speakers such as Emil Sutovsky, CEO of FIDE, and Vladimir Drkulec, President of the Chess Federation of Canada. Additionally, top contenders like Fabiano Caruana (USA) and Vaishali R (India) shared their insights and excitement about the tournament.

Sutovsky shed light on why Toronto was chosen as the host city, emphasizing Canada’s growing chess community and the strong support from the Scheinberg family and the Chess Federation of Canada. GM Caruana, despite being a favorite, acknowledged the formidable competition and the need to bring their best game to succeed.

The tournament represents several firsts, including Canada’s debut as a host for this esteemed event, and the concurrent staging of the FIDE Candidates Tournament and the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament. Notably, siblings Vaishali R and Praggnanandhaa R competing together added a unique family connection to the competition.

The candidates participating in the 2024 Championship includes;

The Opening Ceremony was a delightful affair, with Aris Marghetis and Charlize Van Zyl hosting, and Vladimir Drkulec expressing gratitude to FIDE and the Scheinberg Family, the main sponsors. A humorous touch was added by Kevin Vuong, Member of Parliament for Spadina-Fort York, who shared a witty chess anecdote.

The event concluded with players receiving welcome bags and engaging in a fun question session, adding a personal touch to the proceedings. The tournament is set to begin on April 4th at 14:30 local time, with live coverage on FIDE Youtube featuring star commentators GM Viswanathan Anand and GM Irina Krush.

Stay tuned for the exciting matches and updates from the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2024!