Chess Magnus Carlsen announces $1m online series as viewer numbers surge
over 5 years in The guardian
Norway’s world champion will meet rivals in five tournaments from May to August, with the next event to begin on Tuesday
Magnus Carlsen has announced a new $1m series of major online events in which he will compete, lasting all summer with a final in August. The Carlsen Tour effectively replaces the over-the-board Grand Tour organised from St Louis in the US, which was halted by coronavirus. The Carlsen series could even open up the possibility, if coronavirus continues for a long time, of moving the world championship match itself to an internet setting.
The first Carlsen Tour event has already happened. The Carlsen Invitational, where the No 1 defeated the US champion, Hikaru Nakamura, in a tense final, was watched by an online audience calculated at 114,000. Continue reading...