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2020 Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX

This event has already taken place. All information below is for reference only.

Event Details

Sep 11, 2020 - Sep 13, 2020

The top international chess superstars are set to battle online from September 11-13 in Championships Showdown: Chess 9LX hosted by the Saint Louis Chess Club. Champions Showdown: Chess 9LX will feature the world’s top grandmasters including legendary World Champion Garry Kasparov, the reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen, and World Number 2 Fabiano Caruana. The matches will be played in Chess 960 style, also known as Fischer Random, with a $150,000 prize fund. Games will start daily at 1:00pm CDT (GMT-5) from September 11-13 with expert commentary featuring GM’s Yasser Seirawan and Maurice Ashley and WGM Jennifer Shahade. Viewers can watch live on saintlouischessclub.org or on STLChessClub’s YouTube and Twitch.tv channels.

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Tournament Crosstable

Wins / Draws / Losses

Standard Scoring

1 Win

½ Draw

0 Loss

Rank	Name	Fed.	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Score
1	GM Carlsen, Magnus	NOR	2863	x	½	1	½	0	1	½	½	1	1	6.0
2	GM Nakamura, Hikaru	USA	2736	½	x	1	½	½	1	0	1	½	1	6.0
3	GM Caruana, Fabiano	USA	2835	0	0	x	½	½	1	1	1	½	1	5.5
4	GM Aronian, Levon	ARM	2773	½	½	½	x	½	0	1	½	1	1	5.5
5	GM So, Wesley	USA	2770	1	½	½	½	x	½	½	½	1	0	5.0
6	GM Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	FRA	2778	0	0	0	1	½	x	1	½	1	0	4.0
7	GM Dominguez Perez, Leinier	USA	2758	½	1	0	0	½	0	x	½	½	1	4.0
8	GM Kasparov, Garry	CRO	2812	½	0	0	½	½	½	½	x	0	1	3.5
9	GM Svidler, Peter	RUS	2723	0	½	½	0	0	0	½	1	x	½	3.0
10	GM Firouzja, Alireza	FID	2728	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	½	x	2.5

The Players

Additional Info

Garry Kasparov

Invitational Rating: 2632

Peter Svidler

Invitational Rating: 2740

Leinier Dominquez

Invitational Rating: 2754

Alireza Firouzja

Invitational Rating: 2726

Levon Aronian

Invitational Rating: 2771

Wesley So

Invitational Rating: 2783

Fabiano Caruana

Invitational Rating: 2794

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

Invitational Rating: 2797

Hikaru Nakamura

Invitational Rating: 2801

Magnus Carlsen

Invitational Rating: 2855

Schedule

DATE	TIME*	EVENT
Sept. 11	1:00 PM	Draw for Position
	1:03 PM	9LX Round 1
	2:30 PM	Draw for Position
	2:33 PM	9LX Round 2
	4:00 PM	Draw for Position
	4:03 PM	9LX Round 3
Sept. 12	1:00 PM	Draw for Position
	1:03 PM	9LX Round 4
	2:30 PM	Draw for Position
	2:33 PM	9LX Round 5
	4:00 PM	Draw for Position
	4:03 PM	9LX Round 6
Sept. 13	1:00 PM	Draw for Position
	1:03 PM	9LX Round 7
	2:30 PM	Draw for Position
	2:33 PM	9LX Round 8
	4:00 PM	Draw for Position
	4:03 PM	9LX Round 9

*All times are Central Time* Chess 9LX is an event featuring a chess variant known as Chess 960 or Fischer Random. Chess 960 was created by Bobby Fischer in the late 1990s in which the order of the pieces on the home rank are randomized, with 960 representing the number of possible starting positions. Players will not know the order of the home rank pieces until they arrive before the start of the round and will have to rely on their creativity from move one.

Prize Fund

PLACE	PRIZE	PLACE	PRIZE
1st	$37,500	6th	$10,000
2nd	$25,000	7th	$7,500
3rd	$20,000	8th	$7,500
4th	$15,000	9th	$7,500
5th	$12,500	10th	$7,500
Total Prize Fund: $150,000

Regulations

Format: Champions Showdown: Chess9LX (“the Event”) is a round robin Chess960 (Fischer Random) tournament played at rapid time controls.
Venue: The Event is an online event. Players will compete from their homes under the supervision of a Chief Arbiter. The Chief Arbiter shall be Chris Bird, IA.
Schedule of Events: Each round shall begin at the start times listed in the Schedule of Events attached hereto as Exhibit A (the “Schedule of Events”).
Pairings & Scoring:
- Players will draw lots during the players meeting to determine their pairing number.
- Players will be paired based on the standard FIDE Berger tables.
- In each game, a win is worth 1 point, a draw is worth ½ point and a loss is worth 0 points.
- Games will not be rated.
Starting Position:
- The starting position shall be the same for each game in a particular round.
- The starting position will be different for each round.
- The Chief Arbiter, in conjunction with the Saint Louis Chess Club, will draw the new position three minutes prior to the start of play.
- Players may independently analyze the position for the time allotted in 5.3. Player may not consult any software, chess engines, notes, nor receive assistance from any other person.
Time Control: The time control shall be twenty (20) minutes per game, with a ten (10)-second increment from move one (G/20+10).
Prizes: The total prize fund shall be $150,000 (One Hundred Fifty Thousand U.S. Dollars).
Tiebreak: In the event of a tie for any place in the tournament, there shall be no tiebreak. Prize money shall be divided equally among all tied players.
Arbitration:
- The tournament shall be played according to the rules set by lichess.org. Players shall use lichess accounts provided by the organizer.
- The tournament shall be supervised by the Chief Arbiter (the “CA”).
  - The CA shall be responsible for ensuring fair play and implementing any anti-cheating measures.
  - If a player wishes to appeal a decision of the CA, they must do so immediately after the game by notifying the CA.
  - The Chief Organizer (the “CO”) shall appoint a three (3)-person appeals committee consisting of at least two (2) arbiters (the “Appeals Committee”). The CO shall be Tony Rich, IA, IO.
  - Decisions of the Appeals Committee are final.
- Players are required to sign into Skype on their playing computer one hour before the start of play and enable both video and audio. Skype camera feeds shall be used throughout the event as part of the live commentary show. The CA shall also monitor players via Skype.
- If a player disconnects from lichess.org, that player shall lose all time for which they are disconnected.
- In the event of an unexpected occurrence, the CA reserves the right to make all decisions in conjunction with or on behalf of the CO.
Anti-Cheating Measures:
- Players are required to allow the CA to inspect the playing area and computer on which the player will compete at any time throughout the competition upon request.
- Players are not allowed to leave the computer while their game is in progress.
- Zoom shall be used by the Arbiters to ensure fair play. In addition to 8.3 above, Players must connect to a Zoom conference room from their playing computer and enable screen sharing with the CA.
- Player must also connect to a Zoom conference room on a separate computer, tablet, phone or other device. Player must enable both video and audio in the Zoom conference. Placement of the Zoom camera should ensure that the playing screen, the Player and the room are visible.
- Players shall not run any software other than a web browser with one tab open to lichess.org, Zoom and Skype unless expressly allowed by the CA and CO.
- Players shall not use any other electronic devices while playing, including headphones, mobile phones, etc.
- Games may be submitted for anti-cheating analysis.