REG - World Chess PLC - Armageddon Chess Series: Europe & Africa Week

World ChessAnnouncement

31/05/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 0669B  World Chess PLC  31 May 2023

31 May 2023

World Chess Plc

("World Chess" or the "Company" or the "Group")

World Chess' Armageddon Series announces Europe and Africa Week

World Chess Plc (LSE: CHSS), a leading chess organisation seeking to promote
the mass market appeal of chess globally through the commercial offering of
different chess-related activities, continues its Armageddon Championship
Series with Europe and Africa week. Kickstarting on June 12, 2023, the
high-stakes event will follow the same dramatic format and immense time
pressure constraints as the previous Armageddon events.

World Chess launched the Armageddon Championship in March 2023, bringing a
fresh new twist to this traditional and timeless game. The series has daily
matches consisting of two blitz games (three minutes plus a two-second move
increment) and, if necessary, an Armageddon game (five minutes for White, four
for Black). So far, the championship has hosted the Americas, Asia and Oceania
and Women's Week. The Europe and Africa week will be the penultimate leg of
the series before the Grand Finale which will be streamed on international
television in September.

The start of the tournament will feature eight players from Europe &
Africa region, including Michael Adams from England. Michael became a chess
grandmaster at seventeen, is a seven-time British Chess Champion and holds the
highest achieved chess player rating of anyone in England.

In addition to this, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France), Richard Rapport
(Romania), Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland), Jorden van Foreest (Netherlands),
Vincent Keymer (Germany), as well as Matthias Bluebaum (Germany) and Alexander
Donchenko (Germany), both of whom successfully qualified online, will also be
competing. This group of Individuals will battle it out in a
double-elimination format, with daily matches consisting of two blitz games
with the potential for an additional Armageddon game if a victory does not
emerge.

The winner and runner-up will join an exciting line-up of finalists in the
Grand Finale to be held at World Chess' newly opened Chess Club in Berlin,
where they will compete for the total prize of €200,000. The tournament will
follow a dramatic format, with the players' real-time heartbeat and calories
burnt displayed alongside immense time controls and breakneck moves all adding
to the excitement.

The Armageddon series is being broadcast on 17 television channels worldwide,
as well as World Chess' official YouTube channel, with expert commentary and
analysis provided by Grandmaster Simon Williams and International Master
Jovanka Houska every day at 19:00 CET.

Ilya Merenzon, Chief Executive Officer of World Chess, said:

"It has been fantastic to watch the global accumulation of chess players come
together to compete in the Armageddon series. As we now head towards the Grand
Finale it has been a real joy to watch the fast-paced matches between chess
players of different experiences, playing styles and nationalities.

"The series has created an atmosphere of suspense and excitement and
highlighted the benefits of embracing innovative formats such as Armageddon,
enabling top-level chess to entice a broader audience and ignite greater
passion amongst fans.

"We offer our best wishes to all the players and are excited to get Europe and
Africa Week of the Armageddon Championship underway."

For more information, please visit https://worldchess.com/investors
(https://worldchess.com/investors)  or contact:

 World Chess                       Via Yellow Jersey PR

 Ilya Merenzon, CEO
 Novum Securities Limited          +44 (0) 20 7399 9400

 David Coffman / George Duxberry
 Yellow Jersey PR

 Charles Goodwin                   +44 (0) 774 778 8221

 Annabelle Wills                   +44 (0) 777 519 4357

 

Notes to Editors

About World Chess Plc

World Chess (LSE: CHSS) is a London-based chess gaming and entertainment
company and Fédération Internationale des Échecs ('FIDE') official
commercial partner. World Chess organized the FIDE Championship Matches in the
USA, and the UK, and revolutionized the sport by signing the biggest media
partnerships in history. World Chess develops Armageddon, the chess league for
prime-time television. World Chess also runs FIDE Online Arena, the exclusive
official chess gaming platform. More at worldchess.com
(https://worldchess.com/) .

 

 

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