Chess: Looking for Magnus Carsen's next challenger

The second round of the Candidates Tournament of the World Chess Federation (FIDE,) which was interrupted in March 2020, is set to begin on Monday, with eight grandmasters to sit across the board from each other to determine who will play Magnus Carlsen for the world title in November and December.

"We are completely ready to start the Candidates Tournament," said FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, alluding to a meticulous hygiene plan and the fact that some players have already been vaccinated. 

Last year, FIDE was sharply criticized for having started the tournament despite the COVID-19 pandemic – and being forced to abandon it halfway through. The risk of infection can't be completely ruled out, so a new regulation has been introduced: If a player tests positive for the coronavirus, said player is automatically eliminated. 

Caruanda under pressure 

All eight World Championship contenders go into next week's event taking with them the points they earned in March 2020, and they have only seven rounds to get through in order to earn the right to challenge Carlsen. Two players who were not seen as being among the favorites just over a year ago have now joined that group. Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi go into next week at the front of the pack with 4.5 points each. While the Frenchman's recent form hasn't been good, "Nepo" has had spectacular performances in online chess. The 30-year-old Nepomniachtchi has become something of a fan favorite, as he is always good for an entertaining contest – with spectacular defeats just as likely as spectacular victories.

Vachier-Lagrave and Nepomniachtchi have a one-point lead over the rest, who include world No. 2 Fabiano Caruana of the United States. Caruana, who lost to Carlsen in the last World Championship in 2018, will have to be at his best to close in on Vachier-Lagrave and Nepomniachtchi. His opening match on Monday against Vachier-Lagrave could well be decisive.

Anish Giri of the Netherlands has the reputation of being an overcautious "draw king" but he has recently attracted attention with his enterprising and, above all, successful matches. He is a legitimate dark horse to earn the right to face Carlsen.

Chess boom due to COVID-19   

Whatever happens, the tournament in Yekaterinburg is likely to break spectator records – not on site but through the internet. Due to the pandemic, chess has developed into an online phenomenon. Portals like chess.com and Lichess, attract hundreds of thousands of players on a daily basis. 

However, it's not just dedicated chess portals that are gathering viewers; chess has also become a hit on the gaming platform Twitch. The success of "The Queen's Gambit," a Netflix series about a fictional female chess player who embodies both chess skill and glamor has also contributed to this surge in the popularity of the game.  

While the German Chess Federation and other national associations have been struggling to meet the demands of this chess boom, others, like world champion Carlsen have taken it in their stride. The world's No. 1 chess player now has his own company, "Play Magnus," listed on the Oslo stock exchange and he has built up a small chess empire in recent months.

Carlsen and his associates used the revenue generated by the IPO of "Play Magnus" to purchase an established chess platform and a well-known publishing house. Now his company organizes weekly online chess tournaments, attracting many new fans to their computer screens. 

The only thing Carlsen really needs the World Chess Federation for now is so that he can officially be crowned world champion again. That can only be good for the brand. 

Whoever comes through the matches in Yekaterinburg will be able to look forward to a lucrative showdown with Carlsen at the FIDE World Chess Championship in Dubai in November and December, when €2 million ($2.4 million) will be on the line. Even the 40% that the loser will take home amounts to a pretty good payday by anybody's terms.